So this chapter isn't as lengthy as the other chapters, so there's no excuse for waiting so long to publish it, but here it is! Who doesn't like a drunk scene, huh? I had fun writing it, so I hope you like reading it. I'll try to be more timely with my postings, but kindly keep in mind I'm finishing Senior year and trying to write a book for publication (insert dying whale noise here).

Thank you!

By the time Elaine reached her apartment, she had already taken her shoes off and let down her hair. All cried out and over the drama, she instead focused on whether or not she would eat her feelings tonight. It was tempting.

Memories of her and her sister sitting on the kitchen floor eating burnt grilled cheese or half-frozen cookie dough and laughing about all their mistakes caught her attention; while her sister was the more composed of the two of them, she really did know how to fall apart.

"In this, though," Elaine said to herself as she leaned against the apartment door, "I'll fall apart better than you, sis."

If Evie were here, she would make a challenge out of it.

Toes numb and cheeks flushed, Elaine was wide awake. When she finally pushed herself off the front door and crossed the threshold, her shoes immediately hit the floor and the bottom-shelf Beringer was uncorked.

Sitting on the ground near her fabrics and half-dressed felt mannequin, Elaine polished off her first glass. The second glass came and went along with the third and slowly her nerves melted and her neck seemed to unroll. It wasn't as good as falling apart with a sister, but it'd have to do.

So much unexpected shit had hit her in the last 24 hours.

"And I have a feeling this is about to get a whole lot shittier," Elaine sighed, only to realize her confession fell on absent ears, not including those of Hershel. At least he listened to her.

Hershel cowled, sprawling across the floor in front of her bare feet.

Shaking her legs out to stop the chill from walking barefoot in the night, Elaine brought her knees up to her chin and started giggling.

"I would pour you a bowl," Elaine said to Herschel, motioning to her glass. "But I'm afraid it might kill you."

Herschel simply cowled and rolled onto his back. It was halfway through her fifth glass of Beringer that a knock came at her door.

"Go away!"

Hershel jumped at her shout.

The knock came again.

"I swear if it's Mrs. Denkinger again…" Elaine slurred to herself, staggering towards the entrance, bottle of wine in hand. Elaine swung open her door only to find it was not the nosey Mrs. Denkinger, but Eggsy. He stood on the top step leading to her apartment looking exactly the way she had left him. His overcoat was still damp from the storm they had outrun together, his tie loosened, hair disheveled, and even in Elaine's intoxicated state, she could see the confusion and concern filtered over his eyes. "Eggsy!"
Elaine threw her hands up and Eggsy caught the cheap bottle as it slipped from her fingers. She saw him weigh the bottle in his hands, no doubt concerned at how empty it was.

"Or is it- um, what was it?- Galahad!?" Elaine was already walking back into her cramped apartment and far too sloshed to catch the bewildered expression Eggsy wore. "That's an odd cuddle name, isn't it? Gala-had. I would have thinked Ros-Roxy would call you something like buttercup. Yup. She looks like a gal who calls her boo buttercup."

Elaine chuckled at Eggsy as a buttercup.

Her apartment was messier than usual; bills were thrown over her coffee table, her kitchen table was entirely covered in fabric, and there was one lonely dirty dish sitting in the sink. It was one of Elaine's flaws that she kept everything in order and so much as a veil of dust over a lamp made her go bonkers. So her apartment was a mess. Elaine just leaned against her kitchen counter and looked at the man in front of her with curious and very drunk eyes.

"Elaine, why don't you drink some water, yeah?" Eggsy took off his jacket and placed his hand on Elaine's lower back, pushing her towards a chair.

"I was going to kiss you," Elaine said, drunkenly shaking his hand away. Even without his jacket and his tie and his hair messy, Elaine's heart still sped. And he didn't even feel the same way. So, she leaned towards him with what she hoped was a furious glare, but it felt more sad than furious.

"I was going to kiss you, too." A handsome, lopsided grin pulled at the corners of his lips.

"Well, then you," Elaine poked his chest, "are a horrible person."

"Am I?"

Even drunk, she felt herself swaying.

"Yup. You... You are with Roxy. Perfect, pretty, tall- so tall- Roxy. How could I ever turn your head?" Elaine slumped back into an armchair that Eggsy led her to. "This is all a cruel game."

She closed her eyes to stop the spinning, to unblur the hazy blob her vision had become. When she opened her eyes, Eggsy was gone. Groaning, Elaine rolled over to rest her forehead on the arm of the chair. A few moments later a soft clink sounded next to her ear. Looking up, Eggsy set down a glass of water.

"Look, I swear I'm not with Roxy, she's just my partner at Savile Row, and the name Galahad is an inside joke between us and I did want to kiss you," The corners of his mouth was turned down in worry, but Elaine got the feeling he was also amused.

She tried to focus her vision on Eggsy, but as he sat down next to her, his form blurred and her apartment was too dim to fully make out his features in her drunken state.

"If my si-my sister were, she'd tell me what to think of me- or- you, I mean you," Elaine said, sitting back and looking dizzily at the ceiling.

"What? You can't think for yourself?"

Elaine looked back at him in annoyance.

"I can," Elaine said, "But this sstupid world and the guys in it are dangerous with a capital D," Elaine punctuated her statement with a drunken poke to Eggsy's chest. "And me and my sis look out for each other And I don't believe you when you say… um… the those things you say. I jus' don't believe you," Elaine said stubbornly.

Eggsy laughed before looking into her eyes and moved to kneel in front of her. His palms rested on her thighs.

"Elaine, you are more than capable of catching the eye of any man who knows what's good for him. And I am more than willing to meet your sister and fight for her approval."

Even though he was kneeling right in front of her, his hands on her thighs, and closer than she probably realized, Elaine couldn't focus on him; not because she was drunk (but partly because she was drunk). Nothing was in focus. Not her job, not her friends, not her safety and certainly not her family. Everything was hazy, including the man kneeling in front of her. At this point, Eggsy was more of a presence; his smooth voice, a hint of cologne, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, muddy blonde hair in disarray and the warmth of his hands resting on her legs. Nonetheless, Elaine tried to focus on the man in front of her, but her eyes wanted to rest and she was too scared to worry about anything besides Greg. Everything was catching up to her and she didn't have time to consider anything else. She couldn't be happy. She just needed to run.

"I don't need you to validate me," Elaine said, leaning forward. She could kiss him at this proximity. "Though I still don't believe you. I'm too weak. I can't even escape my past. It's too sticky… it won't let me go."

"I'll help you," Eggsy promised, his eyes serious. "And I fully agree, you don't need my validation. But I'm here."

Elaine closed her eyes as he lifted a hand and brushed her hair back. His fingers lingered behind her ear, trailing down her jaw.

"How did he find me, though?" She whispered too tired to actually worry about it.

"I don't know. But I'll keep you safe. You understand that, right?" Eggsy said, he held her face in his hands.

"I'll have you know, I- me- this badass redhead-am perfectly capable of protractoring myself. Projecting? Propagating, pro… was' the word?"

"Protecting," Eggsy said with a reluctant smile on his face.

"Protecting! Thank you!" Elaine said, leaning forward into Eggsy's chest. The room was spinning too much and she hiccuped against his chest.

Elaine's stomach churned as the chair fell away from her and she was floating across the room spontaneously. It took her a moment to realize Eggsy was carrying her to the couch. Comfortable, Elaine rested her head against his shoulders.

"You know, me an my sis took a Jiu-Jitsu class one summer," Elaine said once she was laying on the couch.

"Yeah?"

"Mmmh. She was better at it than me."

Elaine curled against the cushions and closed her eyes as a blanket was thrown over her. She opened her eyes to find Eggsy watching her. Smiling, he sat on the coffee table in front of the couch and pulled up the blanket to cover her shoulders.

"Why are you the way you are?"

Confusion swept across his features before his eyes melted and he gave her a barely-there grin.

"Would you believe it if I told you I was born this way?"

"Nope."

Eggsy smiled hesitantly, looking down and fiddling with his sleeves. Maybe it was just the Beringer, but when he looked up, he seemed more vulnerable than Elaine had ever seen him.

"I had a mentor of sorts. Taught me everything I know."

A silence hung in the air. Even drunk Elaine felt something change in the air between them; a heavy, dense sort of energy.

"He's gone," Elaine said. It wasn't a question; the loss in Eggsy's eyes was clear and even in the hazy state she was in, Elaine could feel the regret rolling off of him. "Tell me about him."

"Another time, love," Eggsy said, reaching over and moving the glass of water to the nightstand beside the couch. "Go to sleep."

Elaine didn't recall falling asleep, but at some point, she slipped into unconsciousness past the anxiety about Greg. She must have been up tossing and turning, but she didn't remember having any difficulty falling asleep. What she did know, however, was waking up in the early hours of the morning.

The room was dark, save for her living room lamp which cast a dim light across the floor and cast heavy shadows over the furniture and corners. The mannequin on which she had draped the beginnings of a sundress stood in the corner and a pile of bills was barely illuminated on her coffee table on which the glass of water set out for her sat untouched and perspiring.

Groaning, Elaine was about to get up and go to bed, but as she lifted herself up, she felt a density beneath her and a weight laid over her side. Searching in the low morning light, Elaine saw Eggsy fast asleep beside her. Their legs tangled as Eggsy's arms wrapped around her waist as they lie together under the blanket.

Forgetting the bills and the unfinished dress and the mess with Greg, Elaine carefully settled back down to rest against Eggsy. There was barely enough room for both of them on the couch, but Elaine was content to share. Happy, she fell asleep once more.

To Harleyquinn87: Eggsy and Elaine are pretty cute together, I'll admit...