Chapter 26: You Wouldn't Like Me
Silence had never been so uncomfortable.
Usually Ana would be the one to make an awkward joke to break such silence and get people talking – but she was still numb from her pain meds and didn't quite trust her brain yet. She'd tried to hug the cab driver when they'd gotten to headquarters, and tipped him a dart bullet she'd found in her mission bag.
Ana let her gaze wander around the Dining Room, though her eyes were somewhat uncontrolled as well. It went to the portraits on the walls of other Kingsman agents (were they were prints or actually painted?), then she looked at the wallpaper (which she noticed was distorted in a top corner), to Roxy's jacket lapel that had a small wrinkle (did she iron her clothes or steam them?), a smudge of fingerprints on the glass table (were Washington and Adams working before they were called in?), and then landed on Eggy's twitching hand on the glass table. Maybe it was his fingerprints. But that didn't make sense, the fingerprints were a seat or two away, and he had a scar over his knuckles, starting with his middle finger and slanting over to his pinky. Was it a miscalculation in a fight? Was he defending himself or someone else? How quickly did skin heal by men opposed to women?
Her high train of thought was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
She looked up to meet Eggsy's gaze, and seeing the green of his eyes took her back to the shore of South Korea, the look on his face before he bent down to kiss her…
Someone cleared their throat again and she blinked, frowned, and then blinked again as she looked around for the source.
Washington placed his hands on the table as though to stand – but then pulled them back as he finally spoke.
"I'm not usually one at a loss for words, agents. But, it seems to be a day when the impossible is probable."
Ana opened her mouth to say something but felt a heavy foot cover her own under the table. She froze, and looked around.
"Shh," she heard in the faintest decibel possible next to her. She turned to see Kennedy – or Thomas as she'd so recently found out during a suicide mission… oh wait, it was the mission they'd just finished.
The mission where Eggsy had kissed the living daylights out of her after saving her life.
Kennedy's mouth twitched, and applied more pressure onto her foot.
"I believe what Washington is trying to say," Merlin started, and Ana felt almost startled at his presence – was he in the room the entire time? – but he continued, "is well done team. Very very, very, well done."
Washington cleared his throat again, and picked up the small stack of envelopes in front of him.
"These are personally written letters from the POTUS herself," he said, tossing said envelopes across the table to them, "and Purple Hearts will be arriving at each of your addresses, and yes, that includes to our UK branch agents as well, they'll be arriving here within a week," he said, nodding towards Roxy and Eggsy.
Ana ran her fingertips over the envelope in front of her on the desk, her name written in an appealing scrawl. Her eyes flitted to the envelope in front of Kennedy and noticed it seemed thicker than hers… as though there was more than one page. She'd bet her entire life savings that he had a second letter in that envelope, and not from the President.
"… a well-deserved time off," Washington said, as though finishing a sentence.
Ana blinked again, confused as to what he had said, but she could only watch as Washington, Merlin, and Adams all left the Dining Room.
"Christ, you're high as a kite, aren't you?" Roxy said as soon as the door closed behind them.
"What, you didn't notice the tip she gave the cabbie?" she heard Kennedy drawl next to her, and laughter followed.
She stood up suddenly, but then faltered and felt a hand at her back stabilize her.
"I'm completely fine, thank you very much."
"Oh, Lincoln!" Adams exclaimed, walking back into the room. Ana fell back down into her chair, startled yet again.
He had his arm raised, dangling some keys as he walked towards her.
"You're officially off 'probation', enjoy our freedom."
"Only took a suicide mission, eh?" she asked, frowning at the way her voice sounded. It was definitely different.
Adams stopped and let out a laugh before covering his mouth with his other hand. He dropped his hand as he shook his head and reached her, dropping the keys on top of the personal letter from the POTUS.
"Only took a suicide mission, Lincoln," Adams reiterated softly to her before he left again.
"Where's Apollo?!" Ana said, looking around the room. "C'mere, boy!" she shouted, followed by a whistle.
"Okay she's definitely high–"
"I'm fine."
Ana woke up in her 'cell' with a start.
However with a quick look around, she knew she hadn't imagined Adams telling her that her probation was over… she saw Apollo sitting next to her duffel bag, as though ready to go. She still must be wearing off the painkillers – her head still felt slightly fuzzy.
She groaned at the pain in her shoulder as she sat up and rested her feet on the floor, looking down to find a pair of her slip-on sandals at the ready. She slid her feet in as she slowly stood up, which had Apollo turning in circles in excitement.
She didn't bother with the leash as she opened the door, somewhat startled to see who was pacing the hall in front of her.
"Hi..."
"Hello," Roxy gave a nod, and picked up Ana's duffle as well as Apollo's leash, "Ready to go home?" she asked rhetorically as she turned and walked towards the main doors.
"As ever," Ana muttered, following Roxy as she followed, not even bothering to look back at the place she'd hated to call 'home' for the past months. Roxy held the door for Ana as they exited to the LA sun which had Ana feeling like a vampire as she hissed at the bright light.
Roxy gently helped her into the cab and then held the door open, leaning down to her eye level, her arms splayed out on the cab as she gave Ana a serious look.
"Eggsy is good people."
Ana nodded.
"He saved my life," she said, feeling like a kid at show and tell.
Roxy nodded, but continued.
"He feels… deeply."
"And what he feels is unconditional."
"Exactly. And seeing you two during that mission… he obviously feels something for you."
Ana nodded, remembering their kiss yet again. Remembering waking up in the same bed, his eyes drowsy as he asked her name. The way he trained with her, egging her on to get the best out of her.
"A lion… charges full speed ahead."
He'd known her without even her knowing herself.
"He can do that, it's disarming."
Ana blinked. Had she said that last part out loud?
"Yes, you did. And here's my point – with Eggsy being the way that he is, feeling the way he does… he sets himself up for pain."
Ana met Roxy's gaze, and she felt her high drop along with her goofy grin.
"Oh."
"Yes, Ana. Oh. Now, I won't try to figure out what the two of you have, but knowing Eggsy - it's something. And that something can hurt him. He risked his own life to save yours, and I'm not sure what to do with that."
"Wait, you're not threatened, are you? Cause I figured you've got the kind of thing I got with Dylan –
"And Kennedy-"
"Huh?"
"Christ, you're so obtuse! Didn't you realize how 'big brother' he was during the mission?"
"I… I only sometimes realize."
At that Roxy pulled back, shook her head as she sighed and looked up at the sky, and then leaned in again.
"When it comes to Eggsy, I'm gonna need you to fully realize… before you let what is bound to happen between you happen," she finished, her voice dripping with a threat.
Ana blinked.
"I don't–"
"Just think about it, Ana," she finished before closing the door and slapping her hand on the top of the cab.
Ana stared out the window as the cab drove away from HQ and took her home.
She stood at the door with her shoulder pulsing in pain, her emotions in a flurry, and Apollo at her side whining - but she was smiling.
She inserted her key in two locks, and then swung it open as she dropped the leash, Apollo rushing inside. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she looked around.
Finally home, just like the First Daughter.
And the country didn't know what had happened. Such was the way for Kingsman.
And now here she was, finally at home.
She righted herself from the door and walked to her sofa, dropping her duffel as she walked through her condo to the kitchen area and the small closet nearby. She found the box of pee pads she had available whenever she had come back injured from a mission, unable to take Apollo on his usual walks. Wincing through the pain in her shoulder, she placed a few around her apartment with treats in hand, showing Apollo where they were and giving a treat as he sat down on each one.
She grabbed a cold water bottle from the fridge before she collapsed on her sofa, digging into her duffel with her good arm for the bottle of painkillers (ones that didn't mess with her head), taking one as she ordered local Chinese through Postmates on her cell – too exhausted to order over the phone and talk to anyone.
Apollo jumped up next to her, giving a whine and looking towards the front door, where a set of hooks on the wall held her favorite jacket, her keys, and Apollo's leash.
"Not tonight, bud," she said with a sigh, scratching the top of his head. Sometimes he could get a little feisty during their walks, and she only had one good arm to hold the leash by – she couldn't take the chance.
As though he understood, Apollo settled down and rested his head on her leg as she turned on the TV and channel skipped mindlessly, finally settling on a rerun of Jeopardy!. Watching the contestants answer questions she only knew a quarter of the answers to, so determined to come out on top, watching these normal people experience something daunting in their own eyes… instead of being shot at or tackling down an enemy or dismantling a bomb, it almost gave her a peace of mind.
When a beer commercial with dogs had her tearing up, she knew she was truly exhausted. She picked up her phone to see if she could possibly cancel the order when she heard two sharp knocks on her door. She dropped the phone with a frown as she stood up and shushed Apollo's barking, surprised how fast the order had been… but then again, she was a regular at that spot – app or not.
She ordered Apollo to sit as she threw open the door, a fake smile ready to accept her food, but then froze.
"Hey, Linc."
She cleared her throat.
"Eggsy," she said, surprised as to why he was standing in front of her – at her real home.
Only Dylan had been to her place. She wondered what it took to get him to give up her address - and she already had a few choice words and ultimatums to give the next time she saw him.
She sighed as Eggsy stayed silent.
"If you take Apollo on a walk I might share some of my food that's on its way," she said, too exhausted to argue to get him to leave. He was here for a reason.
As soon as she said the word 'walk' Apollo spun in a circle and let out a soft 'woof', knowing what the word meant.
He raised an eyebrow, and she mirrored him.
"I know you well enough that you're not gonna leave me alone."
"And now I need ta… walk… for your company?"
"Take it or leave it, buddy," she said, instinctively reaching for the least with her bad arm and wincing in pain, taking a step back.
Eggsy's grin dropped and he stepped forward, but she shook her head and motioned to the leash with her good arm.
"He needs fifteen minutes, minimum."
Apollo was standing between them, his head moving back and forth, letting out a soft bark when Eggsy reached for the leash and spinning in a circle. Eggsy bent down and clipped the leash, standing and opening his mouth to say something, but Apollo dragged him away with a jerk.
Ana sighed and shook her head as she closed the door, ignoring the instinct to slam it.
Shit.
She turned and looked around her condo, wondering if it was too messy, but then shook her head as he let out a scoff and sat back down on her sofa. Who cared what he thought? She hadn't been here since they met. If he had any judgment, she'd let him know where he could stick it.
He flipped the pages absentmindedly, looking at the collection of polaroid photos from her coffee table book but not really seeing them. His gaze kept moving to the sleeping Ana.
He'd gently knocked on her door when he came back from his walk with Apollo, and when she didn't answer he came in to find her asleep, the TV still on – mentally reminding himself he needed to tell her she's back home and would need to lock her door. He found the remote and muted the TV before throwing a blanket over her. Apollo didn't hesitate to jump onto the sofa and curl up close.
He moved the takeout bags that were waiting outside to her kitchen counter, taking a look around her place for the first time. It seemed lived in, but still so sparse. He moved a finger across the counter and it came back with some dust. It made sense, she'd been living at HQ since he'd arrived in Los Angeles.
With only a minute of looking for the supplies, he decided to clean. It kept him occupied while he waited for her to wake up. Though what they'd just been through, he also felt like he could sleep for an entire day – so he prepared himself for the fact she might not wake up tonight. He contemplated grabbing another blanket and sleeping on the other sofa, since he wouldn't want to leave her alone and with her door unlocked.
He didn't touch her bedroom, but did take a guilty look inside. A deep purple comforter with blue sheets. Classic movie posters on the walls. A fake plant in the corner. A shaggy rug near her vanity. No photos. He felt a pang in his chest at that – remembering the stash of frames he'd found at her old house. Why hadn't she brought any to her new home? When Harry had died, Eggsy had hounded Merlin for a photo of Harry to bring to his new apartment.
Eventually Apollo started following him around while he cleaned. He found treats in the pantry and gave him a few, which earned him the privilege to give the dog a pet. He felt a pang in his chest when Apollo's back leg started thumping during a scratch, reminding him of JB.
He wanted nothing but to pull out his phone and call his mom, who was watching him, but he was on radio silence. Could only send texts with how well his 'business trip' was going.
He put the cleaning supplies away, the tang of citrus cleaner permeating the condo. He'd grabbed a book off her coffee table, sat down on the other side of her L-shaped sofa, and had attempted to not stare at her.
Which he was now failing.
She looked better with a pink face and full lips; he never wanted to look at her and see blue and white skin like he had on the beach in South Korea. He knew it was of moment of weakness to kiss her, but when she had kissed him back …
He cleared his throat and went back to looking at the polaroid's.
He felt his own eyes getting heavy when she jerked awake with an adorable snort.
She looked around to take in her surroundings, her body relaxing when she realized she was home, but when her gaze landed on him her eyes widened.
As though she thought he would be gone.
He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
So instead he gave her a smile, closing the book and tossing it on the cushion next to her.
"The food might need some heatin' up," he said, ready to fight to stay. They needed to talk. And he had something to give her.
She only nodded.
He gave a single nod back as he stood up, heading towards the kitchen where the cartons of her take-out were strewn on the counter. He stuck a few in the microwave and then opened a few drawers, before finding what he wanted as he headed back to her.
He came around and rested a fork and spoon, along with the given chopsticks in her order on the coffee table in front of her, then wordlessly went back to the kitchen area as the microwave beeped, feeling her eyes on him the entire time.
Apollo jumped down at the beep of the microwave and trotted over to him. He smiled and grabbed another treat from the pantry, scratching his back in the right spot to get that back leg thumping again.
"Bribery, I see," she called over.
"Nah, he grew to like me on our walk," he said, standing up, "I helped defend him against a vicious chihuahua, and now he's my friend."
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Fine, fine, the treats help too. He showed me exactly where they were when we got back."
She nodded and turned back to her TV and he grabbed the rest of the food, coming around and placing it on the coffee table.
Apollo stayed on the ground – as though trained to do so – and Eggsy took that opportunity to sit on the same sofa as her, but still keeping a distance to keep her comfortable. He met her gaze and saw her true stare coming back. She wasn't high on the pain killers anymore.
She kept the blanket on her lap as she reached forward, looking inside each carton before grabbing the orange chicken.
He decided to stay silent, wanting her to talk first as he reached for the chow mein. He reached in and slipped a small noodle to Apollo when Ana looked at the silent TV, an action movie playing.
"I saw that," she said dryly.
He let out a sigh.
"Ya probably wonderin' how I got here."
"Only one other agent knows where I live, so there's no wonderin' about it."
He felt his lips twitch at her mock accent, but continued.
"Don't blame Dylan, I promised he wouldn't-"
"That's not your promise to make."
He jerked his head back, but then shook his head. He'd run into Dylan in the hallways at HQ, on his way to her room when he had broken the news that she had left already.
To his surprise, Dylan immediately gave him her address with the cryptic words "She's the smartest woman I know, but also frustratingly obtuse."
"Let us both share the blame then. Lay it on me," he said, sticking his chopsticks in the carton and resting it on his lap as he leveled her with a look.
She rolled her eyes as she bent forward, trading her orange chicken for the fried rice and grabbing a spoon, all with her good hand.
"How's the shoulder?" he asked softly, eyeing her sling.
She only looked at him as she ate a spoonful of the rice before speaking.
"Roxy warned me off you."
His eyebrows creased and he flinched.
Shit. Probably not good. He wished their first kiss had been when they were alone, and not with an audience. But then again, if they had been alone … would they have stopped at just a kiss?
"Sorry 'bout that. She means well but–"
"Nothing to be sorry about. Roxy warned me off of you. She's… brilliant – as you hopefully already know. Caught me at that delicate time between comedown of the high and reality hitting me, so she could get the truth from me."
Eggsy blinked and then leaned forward, keeping her gaze.
"What truth is that?"
She scooped more rice into her mouth to keep herself from talking.
He sighed in defeat and rested back against the cushions, this time not even trying to hide as he threw a small tidbit to Apollo, who caught it mid-air.
"He's chubby enough as it is."
"He's perfect, just like you," he said, looking her up and down while sitting on the sofa.
"I wasn't trying to-"
"But I think you were."
He was beginning to expect that Ana wasn't above using her appearance as a shield. People saw what they wanted to see, he knew that firsthand.
But Eggsy was guessing that very few had ever glimpsed her vulnerability when that shield cracked, the way it had when he pushed her buttons the right way to let her true self out – which was almost invincible. For what she had been through, from V-Day to right here on the sofa across from him, she was acting as though she had come home with a simple scratch rather than just finishing a suicide mission where she had almost died a handful of times. He remembered reigning in every fiber of his control to not kiss the living daylights out of her when they had both landed on the ground after her parachute had failed. And again when she had kissed his cheek as thanks for saving her life that night in the woods, surrounded by the unknown.
The deprecating comments were so subtle, so well hidden, that it had taken him a week or two to realize what she was really meaning. And that's when he grew angry at those around her, especially Dylan and Kennedy, that either also didn't notice, or worse, noticed yet didn't say anything.
"You don't realize it, but you make those comments. So often it makes me angry that the others don't call you out on it. Even Dylan."
She stabbed her spoon into the rice and leant forward to drop the carton on her coffee table.
"He wants to start a 'self-insult' jar-"
"He hasn't already?" he asked, taking a look around her apartment. He saw an empty vase he'd spotted when cleaning – wondering if that could be it.
"Why are you even here?" she spat out, glaring at him.
He fought a smile.
He only shook his head as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife he intimately knew.
The night they had met, she'd tried to cut and stab him with it in that hallway - when they thought they were enemies, not two agents of the same organization. And yet when she'd shot them with her tranquilizer darts, she'd risked being found to grab it back. And in North Korea, when the car had upended, she'd brought it out to cut herself free of her seatbelt and tossed it to him, so they could all escape.
He'd asked her about it before, hopeful in the moments when he'd caught her off guard, but he'd never gotten an answer. However he had his theories, and hoped he would find if any of them were true.
He reached forward to balance it on her knee.
She stared at him, and then down at the knife, and then back at him.
Her hand grabbed it and held it tight to her chest.
"Thank You," she whispered.
She held the knife close to her chest. She didn't know she was so careless with it – how could she have been careless?
As though reading her mind, Eggsy spoke.
"At the Humvee, we were all stuck in our seatbelts. You tossed it to me so we could all get out. I kept it on me. I… I know it means something to you."
She nodded and stuck it down her sling, near her elbow. All the while she kept his gaze.
He kept hers as he grabbed the carton of orange chicken, taking a piece for himself before reaching out to her as an offering.
She shook her head, not feeling hungry anymore. She still couldn't believe she was so careless about it.
His face fell when she rejected him, but he covered it quickly as he put the carton back on the coffee table.
"It's… stolen."
He stilled, and slowly brought his hand back to his body as he adjusted himself on the sofa, fully facing her and, she noticed with a pang in her chest, using that moment to inch closer to her.
"Never took you for a rebel," he said sarcastically, and she laughed.
"I… I owe you an explanation."
He only nodded.
"It's a while overdue," she continued, meeting his gaze. So much had happened since he'd arrived that she'd almost forgotten that she was first on scene at the South Glade Mission Church, had tried to save Harry's life. Brought him to Harry's grave, gave him the letter. She remembered trying to reign in her control to crawl into his lap and hug him on the cab ride home. They'd both lost someone important on V-Day.
She took in a shaky breath, already feeling her eyes getting wet.
"Jeremy used this to stab my twin sister, Natalia, on V-Day."
Eggsy let out a shudder.
"It's his?" he asked, his voice dark.
She nodded.
"Even tried to get me with it, but he threw it wrong, and it bounced off of me."
"Why… why keep it? Isn't it…"
"I've got scars from that day, invisible scars. Everyone who survived has them," she said with a shaky breath, a tear falling from her eye. "Keeping this, using this," she said, grabbing it back from her sling -wincing slightly when she nudged her arm the wrong way - and flipping it in her hand. She even flipped the switch to open and closed it with a flick of her wrist before she continued.
"I used it to give the pain I had."
Eggsy stayed silent, just staring at her. She felt more tears fall as she clenched the butterfly knife tightly in her good grip.
"The Kingsman therapist said that at least I wasn't cutting myself, to alleviate the emotional pain. Part of our jobs is to inflict pain when needed. So I use this to do it."
"You tried to use it on me the night we met," he said, his eyes flashing from the memory.
She smiled but shook her head.
"You had a one-up on me. Had to do what I could."
"You did everything you could. You fought well. I had my own doubts there before Roxy came to our rescue."
"We have the same fighting style."
He raised an eyebrow and she felt warmth flood her cheeks.
"During training, I could see it. It's why we…"
"Are each-others match."
Her chest let out a flutter at the wording. And her heart beat in overdrive as he reached forward to swipe away a lone tear.
"We are quite a pair, aren't we?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"Our meeting was … unconventional, to say the least."
She tilted her head.
"What if it was … conventional?"
He stared at her for a beat before he let out a grin.
"If I was just a man, and you were just a woman … that night, I would've told the truth."
Her heart was about to beat out of her chest, like a buzzing cellphone falling off a counter.
"I would've told ya that you were simply too beautiful to ignore, and that I wanted to spend time with you."
Her eyes roamed his face. A small scar near his eyebrow. The tilt of his lips in his grin. Stubble growing in on his angled jaw from the long night. She watched his lips move as he continued.
"And if I was lucky enough to be invited here on our third or fourth date-"
"That soon?"
"Hush, I'm tellin' a story," he said, reaching forward to rest his finger on her mouth. He stared at her before he withdrew, his finger tracing her bottom lip before falling away. He shifted closer to her.
"I would've cooked for you, not gotten cheap knock-off take out."
"Excuse me, but their orange chicken is amazin-"
"Tastes like it's from a frozen prepared pack. Have you ever been to this place? Or just delivered?"
"Just delivery…" she muttered. But then again, it was Los Angeles. Finding the authentic cuisine from knock-offs was a hard task. Especially from a food delivery app.
"I would've cooked," he said again, "I'm not the best at it, but I've been told I make a good bangers and mash."
She felt a small giggle escape her.
"What?"
"Bangers and mash… that's so… British."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"I am British."
"Oh, I know. Hard to forget with that ever changing accent."
He nodded, and his eyes flickered away from her for a moment before he met her gaze again.
"Harry taught me everything I know. He had a posh accent, different from my usual Chav. On the field, I try to mimic his accent. Most times, people prefer the Posh accent."
"I… sometimes, I can't tell the difference with you."
He tilted his head.
"Could be all this time spent in the states. I know America also has its different accents…"
"Those are more prevalent in the east; the South, the North."
"Where are my kha-kis, right?"
She laughed at his attempt at a Bostonian accent, but nodded.
"What else did Harry teach you?" she asked.
He stayed still for a moment, but let out a breath, not looking at her, as though even avoiding her gaze.
"He had a saying … 'manners maketh man'," he said, looking at her with determination.
What was behind the determination, she couldn't decipher-
"But my manners are nowhere to be found right now," he said before he reached forward, bringing his hand around the back of her neck as he pulled her towards him. Their mouths crashed and she felt an odd sense of peace combined with frenzy overcome her.
Their lips moved against each other, as though belonging there – the peaceful part.
But his hand flexed on the back of her neck, one of his nails scraping her skin, and she wanted more - the frenzy.
Forgetting her injury she moved both arms to reach for him, but flinched at the pain in her shoulder from her gunshot wound.
"Shit, sorry, sorry," he said, pulling back, his arm moving down from her neck to the strap of her sling, "I didn't-"
"Shut up," she whispered as she leaned in and brought their lips together again. She remembered to move only her good arm as she wrapped it around his back, keeping him with her. She felt his tongue tease her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, welcoming him in.
His hands moved to her waist and he picked her up almost effortlessly to bring her onto his lap, angling his body so he never bothered her sling as he kept on kissing her and she kept on kissing him, her brain feeling lightheaded from either the contact or lack of breathing.
Which it was, she didn't care.
She leaned her body forward, putting the most of her weight on her knees so she wasn't fully bearing down on him as they continued to make out. For brief moments they pulled apart to catch their breath, for Eggsy to nip at her jaw, for her to brush at his eyebrow with her good hand, before they went back in for more.
She felt one of his hands tug at her shirt, her entire body shivering when he reached underneath to touch her skin, both of his hands coming to her hips with a gentle touch before they gripped tight and pulled her down onto him, the both of them letting out a moan at the contact.
"All of you," he muttered between kisses, his grip almost holding her and her weight on top of him.
She could only nod and let her body fully relax, giving him all of her weight as she kissed him with more fervor. The groan he let out egged her on even more as she gave a small grind of her hips against his.
He let out an unintelligible curse against her lips as he moved his hand up, his fingers swirling against her side, her stomach, and up, up, up towards her breast. She let out a whimper, waiting for his touch -
Apollo let out a sharp bark, and reality set in for her.
They pulled apart only a little, taking in each other's breath as they both opened their eyes to meet one another's gaze. The heat in his gaze had her leaning forward slowly, his chin tilting up to meet her lips -
Apollo let out another bark.
Eggsy let out a groan – not of pleasure but of annoyance, his hands coming back down to her waist, giving her skin a squeeze as he rested his forehead on her neck.
She felt herself resting her cheek on top of his head, catching her breath, her heart still beating in overdrive.
She shifted to move off of him but his hands tightened on her, as though asking for another moment.
She gave it to him, flexing her fingers on the back of his neck to comb through his hair.
He let out a breath and moved his head to kiss her neck gently, sending a shiver down her spine.
Apollo let out another bark yet again, and he gripped her waist tight before he lifted her and sat her down beside him on the sofa and stood up quickly, taking a few steps away as he ran a hand through his hair before turning to look at her.
Her entire body was shaking. She lifted her good hand to touch her swollen lips, and licked at them for a last taste.
"Don't do that," he said breathlessly.
She turned to look up at him as she dropped her hand.
Apollo let out a soft bark as he jumped up on the sofa and nestled in at Ana's side, as though he had been making a scene to show that he belonged there.
They both let out a laugh. Eggsy shook his head as he rested both hands on either hip, and Ana mindlessly petted Apollo – but on second thought, it was as though she was rewarding him for the interruption and pulled back.
She blinked, her hazy, horny mind coming into focus.
Oh, god.
"Oh, god."
Eggsy took a step forward to stare her down.
"Don't you dare," he started.
"Oh, my god," she said again, clenching both fists.
Her injury – forgotten yet again – flared pain through her arm and she winced. Before she could blink Eggsy was in front of her – kneeling – as he gently took the hand of her bad arm and cradled it in his.
He looked up at her as he leant forward and kissed her knuckles.
She almost fell apart and resisted the urge to grab his shirt with her good hand to resume what they had just been doing. His lips looked fuller, almost swollen, from their kisses. She wondered if hers looked the same.
"Don't say anything, that look on your face says enough," he said, brushing another kiss on her knuckles before he stood up in front of her.
He bent forward and scratched behind Appollo's ear, which earned him a lick.
With his other hand he reached forward to her, tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear.
"Get some rest, and lock the door behind me."
She could only nod.
He stood there, his eyes moving between hers.
His eyebrow furrowed, as though he was contemplating something … but then he gave a single nod and turned, taking his jacket off of the hook by the door and bending over to grab his shoes – she might or might not have avoided looking at him while he did so – and left without another word.
You Wouldn't Like Me by Tegan and Sara