I'm so sorry! I know this update came later than usual, but I've been having some really frustrating computer problems that are now, thankfully, resolved. I've been posting updates now and then on my profile and feel free to message me about when the next update is. I also need to get a beta. I don't know how to go about that because this is my first fic and I'm unsure of the procedure so if you know how to do that, be kind and help the most tech-savvy person on this site!
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
"Thank god, that took forever." Elaine sighed, walking out of the French terminal alongside Eggsy.
"The flight was only an hour and a half." Eggsy adjusted his pack on his shoulder and the bag in his hand as he wrapped his free arm around Elaine's waist. The embrace was light and Elaine knew he held her in a way that gave her the option of walking out of it, but his touch only brought her closer.
"Every flight is an eternity when Paris is at the other end." Elaine remised as they walked, leaning into his side.
It was already nightfall once they stepped out into the Parisian streets and into the misty night; as night air tends to be. Elaine was looking forward to a leisurely vacation, but there was still the tugging sensation in her mind telling her that even if she was running with a companion, it was still running. She also had the suspicion that Eggsy was also running away from something. She hadn't brought it up in London, but there were bruises on Eggsy's face and tired bags under his eyes. Elaine had also noticed that he favored his left side just a bit. She had brought it up as they were boarding their plane, but he had deflected it with his usual charm. She hadn't brought it up since.
"Have you been here before?" Eggsy asked.
Elaine pondered the shadowy cityscape before her. The rush of sparse midnight traffic down a block and the general urban atmosphere generated the feel of just another city, but memories from her last trip trinkled at the back of her thoughts.
"Once. And not under the happiest circumstances."
Evie's sad eyes flashed in Elaine's mind. She would stand by her statement; every flight is an eternity when Paris is at the other end. Especially so when it is dread that stretches the hours.
"Well, how do you feel this time?" Eggsy asked.
Elaine let out an easy sigh of content. This was not the Paris that had swallowed her sister. This was the cinematic, the romantic, the bustling city of light and love. She dropped his hand and grabbed a lamppost and span around it. When she faced him again, Elaine wrapped her arms around the lamppost and rested her cheek lovingly against its cool metal as if that singular streetlamp was the entirety of Paris.
"I'm happy. Very, very, happy." She said with dreams in her eyes.
Elaine paused in her admiration of the city and the man in front of her when she saw the warm gleam that had settled into Eggsy's eyes. Silently, Eggsy set down the luggage, strolled the few feet between them, and kissed her.
The kiss started slow and once the surprise left, Elaine smiled into his lips and threw her arms over his shoulders to bring him all the more closer to her. It was one of those kisses that, even though it was the first between them, carried the sparkling taste of future kisses, and as their lips and tongues danced together Elaine saw all of them.
When they broke apart, Eggsy still held her waist and Elaine still held his shoulders. She caught a wisp of a smile on his lips.
"I was wondering when we were going to do that." Elaine murmured.
Eggsy laughed, setting his forehead against hers.
"Me as well, love."
Laughing together at their mutual infatuation, Eggsy shouldered their bags and he and Elaine continued along the sparsely traveled, midnight streets.
"Where are we going?" Elaine asked after a few blocks.
"I haven't the faintest clue."
"What, you didn't make a full itinerary for our spontaneous Paris excursion?" Elaine mused.
"That would be no fun. Would it?"
Laughing again at him, Elaine bumped his side with her shoulder and made the choice to fully embrace the spontaneity of the trip.
So, they just walked. It had to be past midnight and even when the occasional shady stranger passed them and the shadows cast by the streetlamps stretched across the cityscape, all Elaine could feel was warm and protected beneath Eggsy's arm. After a few blocks, they passed a pub. Or was it a cafe? Book lender? Elaine didn't know what to call the nook but the lights from the interior; which was occupied with a small crowd of laughing night owls. Just peering through the window beside Eggsy, Elaine could see some of the occupants sipping from tea mugs and others drinking from heavily poured glasses of wine. Nonetheless, it was obvious that the intimate group with was just that; intimate. Eggsy asked if she wanted to go in, but Elaine declined.
"They look happy." Elaine observed.
The group remained oblivious to her and Eggsy.
Just outside the cozy nook was an old radio playing what Elaine assumed was a Sidney Bechet song.
"Do you want to dance?"
"Right here? Right now?" Elaine asked, a bit thrown by his proposition.
"No better time, eh?"
"Alright." Elaine shrugged, returning the playful gleam she caught in Eggsy's eyes. "But I'm not dressed appropriately so this is only a practice dance."
Eggsy chuckled, taking her hand and twirling her towards him.
Neither of them had time to put together a suitcase of closer, each of them grabbing a few off hand outfits without really planning for the days ahead. They were too drunk on each other. So, as they danced, Eggsy sported a wrinkled suit he had worn on the plane and Elaine wore overalls that were too big for her and a wrinkled cami below to match Eggsy's wrinkled suit. But for all it was worth, they were each transcendent in one another's eyes. The wrinkles and engulfing denim fading away as the music became a dreamy mist that coiled around their ankles and slipped up their spines.
He wanted to freeze this moment. Right here dancing with Elaine beneath the streetlamps and overhanging ivy tangling along the rusty Parisian balconies above them outside the glowing, cozy nook nestled and hidden from the rest of the city. The night had a way of sewing it all together. It had seemed to Eggsy they had danced this dance every night he could recall; the way their forms melded to one another couldn't be an accident and in the time it took to waltz to a single song outside the pub, Eggsy knew he loved her. There was no other way to describe it. Her head on his shoulders, her lips close to his heart, she melted into him. Elaine was like a song, her swaying with the night a melody he couldn't quite grasp; so he kept her close and repeated whatever visions and memories he could catch of her.
They were too wrapped up in each other to notice the door opening.
"You lovers, come inside. It's cold and not good to kiss in." A stout man with thick glasses said in a heavy accent.
Eggsy looked over to see one of the patrons leaning out the door. Behind him, the entire group had fallen silent and were all watching Eggsy and Elaine dance.
"You up for it?" Elaine asked.
He shrugged and answered the man in French to which the he responded with a warm smile. Elaine laughed and followed him inside, Eggsy following right behind.
"J'ouvrirai une autre bouteille." A woman said as Elaine and Eggsy settled together on a loveseat. The woman disappeared in the back. Bottle could be heard clanking together.
"What did she say?" Elaine leaning into Eggsy to whisper.
"She's getting us wine."
"You are- tourists?" One of the women, a mousy one, said. She obviously was searching for the right word and Elaine thank her in silence for breaking out her English for her.
"Yes," Elaine answered. "Though it was one a little bit of a whim."
"Mmh, those are the most fun trips. Oui?" A slightly inebriated man said.
The woman came back with two wine corks in her hands.
"Rouge ou blanc?"
The Brunette woman holding the corks was elegant and poise, a true definition of Parisian chic as she wore a sleek blush dress, pearls, and kitty heels.
"I'll have red. You?" Elaine looked at Eggsy, who nodded with her decision. "Rouge, please. Uh, merci."
"I am Chloe." Said the mousy girl who had spoken up before. She sat on the couch next to the love seat Elaine and Eggsy occupied. Chloe nodded to the man sitting beside her. "And this is my brother Clement. We saw you dancing outside and needed to invite you in."
A wave of agreement traveled through the group. A woman with a pixie cut sitting at the opposite side of the central coffee table looked at Elaine and Eggsy with affection.
"I am Nolan." A lanky man taller than the rest of the group spoke. Nolan sat on the only chair out of the two couches and a loveseat. He looked like the partner of the elegant woman pouring Eggsy and Elaine's wine as he sported a neat sweater paired with slacks and sensible shoes. His face lit up as the elegant woman entered the room and gave the newcomers their wine. "And this is my Lena."
Once Elaine and Eggsy had gotten their drinks, she went and sat on Nolan's lap.
"Mon nuage de paradis solitaire dans le désert." Nolan professed in beautiful french.
Chloe pretended to vomit.
"You must excuse Nolan," Clement said, leaning past his sister to talk to them. "He is a poet and spews romanticism whenever he opens his mouth!"
"How can I not, monsieur? When I have the most beautiful woman on my arm." Nolan caressed Lena's cheek that had grown rosy from wine.
The man sprawled out on the couch closest to the engaged couple snorted and rolled his eyes. "Arrete de te la peter!"
The rebuttal won some chuckles from the group and Eggsy as well.
"Ach!" Lena scoffed, jumped up and slapped the man on the arm.
Elaine leaned closer the Eggsy to ask what it meant.
Eggsy shifted to put his arm around her.
"It's a vulgar way to tell someone to stop showing off."
Elaine went along with the playful air of the group and settled into Eggsy. Occasionally sipping her wine, Elaine enjoyed the intimacy of the group and the comfort of this small nook. Eggsy would speak up now and again to contribute to the largely French conversation and Elaine would take those moments to bask in how lovely he spoke.
As the hour passed into the next one, it became apparent how inebriated everyone was becoming.
At some point in the night, between her fourth and fifth glass of wine, Elaine found herself in Eggsy's lap laughing at the people around her. She didn't know when she had moved, but enjoyed the feeling of his arms wrapped around her and the way his chest vibrated as he laughed. Thinking nothing of it, Elaine sank into him.
"You like Bechet?" Lena asked.
"Mmmmh, do I," Elaine's drunken giggles were growing more pronounced which in turn made the others fall into their own fits of giggles. "Bechet is the Rembrandt of clarinetists!"
"To the Rembrandt of clarinettes!" Lukas shouted, raising his glass.
"To Clarinet Rembrandt!" They all cheer with differing levels of articulation.
"I'm a bit drunk," Elaine confessed to no one in particular, but Chloe heard and chinked her glass against her own.
Elaine laughed with the rest of them, keeling over and throwing her head back with wild abandon the way one does in intimate groups such as these. Chloe's snort only made everyone laugh louder until Lukas got up and danced on the coffee table.
"Who wants plus de vin?!" Lukas shouted from the coffee table and was answered by enthusiasm.
So Lukas left the room to get another bottle that Elaine wasn't sure they should have, and practice the few French words she knew to Lena and Chloe who were screaming with laughter at her pronunciation. At one point of the conversation, Elaine called Nolan a whore.
Elaine was so caught up with her new friends that it escaped her notice that Eggsy was no longer by her side.
Once Lukas stumbled into the back store room, Eggsy was there. He leaned against the back wall studying the drunken man with mild amusement. At once, the drunken stupor fell from Lukas's face and was replaced by a stern glare.
"What the hell are you doing? Galavanting around Paris with a jolie fille? A civil?"
"News travels fast." Eggsy sighed.
"It wouldn't be news if it didn't."
"You owe me a favor." Eggsy cut right to the chase.
"This is a dangerous world. I don't know what favors you will ask and I have enough tedious work at the museum." Lukas took out a cigarette and lit it, contemplating the Kingsman in front of him.
"I didn't know curating a museum was so much work." Eggsy challenged.
"Pah! I didn't know tailoring was so dangerous." Lukas shot back with a scowl. "What is this favor you are asking of me?"
"I need a place to stay. Only for tonight."
"Stay here in the apartment above. Conveniently, I am watching over this business while my friends are in Berlin."
"Thank you." Eggsy said. "You seemed a bit tipsy out there, mate, perhaps you should slow down."
"Ach. Fou. I like making my friends laugh." Lukas muttered before grabbing a wine bottle and walked out of the storage room.
True to his word, as soon as he stepped out into the group, he belted a drunken tune and the others erupted with laughter.
"I will call you soon." Lena said, kissing Elaine on the cheek.
I was the very early morning and the group was beginning to disperse. Chloe and Clement had already left and Nolan had work in the morning, so the group quickly shrank from then on.
"I would love that." Elaine gushed. "Sorry about calling Nolan a whore."
"Don't! I haven't laughed that hard in ages! We'll meet and you'll be speaking fluent French in a week."
"I might have to take you up on that," Elaine laughed as she pecked Lena's cheek one last time before they left.
A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and Elaine gladly leaned back into them.
"That was an interesting night," She said.
The room became less bright once everyone was gone. Lukas was upstairs setting up sleeping arrangements and the lateness of the night seemed to catch up to her.
"Yeah, I didn't expect to find this crew."
"Are you sure Lukas is okay with us staying here?"
"Yeah, for sure. Turns out I know 'im. He's a curator for a fancy museum here and I've worked with him for tailoring his suits."
"Then this all works out nice." Elaine mused, turning to face Eggsy and wrapped her arms around his torso.
Just as the morning sun lit the dust on the wooden floors and antique dresser, Eggsy looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes for a moment. In that moment, the world fell away. All the espionage, tension, responsibility, danger; it all melted away and was replaced by the feeling of Elaine sleeping on his arm.
Elaine. Not Evie.
What would come next, though?
He broke out of his spiraling thoughts when the strawberry haired dream shifted next to him, yawned, and rolled over towards him.
"Good morning," Eggsy said, meeting her forehead with his.
She let out a sleepy moan and leaned into him.
"Goodmorning to you, too."
"What do you want to do today? I bought Paris for you."
"All mine?" Elaine mused.
"Better believe it. It cost me a pretty pound, but it's your's."
"How thoughtful of you."
Elaine moved closer and rested her cheek on his chest. She hummed through a smile and rose up on her elbows, one hand firmly on his chest, and thoroughly kissed him.
It started slowly, with Elaine's lips teasing his, but Eggsy wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer.
"We could just stay here." Elaine suggested into his kiss.
His arms tightened around her and she squeaked when he lifted her up and rolled them over.
"Whatever you want." He said into her neck.
Elaine giggled something about being ticklish and he laughed back. She tried tickling him back but nothing seemed to work. Once her stomach began hurting from the laughter, her phone rang from the side table at the other side of the room so Eggsy rolled over and insisted she get it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, bitch. Got your message."
Elaine had forgotten she sent Maisey a cryptic text about her travels.
"Yeah, about that," Elaine began.
Eggsy, sensing a conversation about him, rolled out of bed with a smug, knowing smile, kissed her cheek and mentioned going downstairs to find Lukas.
"Ellie?"
Once Eggsy had disappeared and the sound Eggsy's retreating footsteps faded, Elaine squealed into the phone, quiet enough so as to not carry throughout the apartment.
"Guess where I am right now?" Elaine could barely contain the excitement in her voice.
"In a certain gentleman's apartment."
"Wrong. I'm in an apartment in Paris with a certain gentleman."
Elaine held the phone away from her ear as Maisey screamed through the line.
"Oh my god, you slut! I'm so proud of you! And Paris! How was the sex? Did you go to the Eiffel tower? I bet the sex was amazing, he seems like the kind of guy that knows his way…"
"Maisey, no, no, slow down. We haven't done anything… but he does seem like that kind of guy, doesn't he? Elaine giggled.
"How's Paris?"
"I don't know about the day, but it's beautiful by night. Eggsy asked me if I wanted to go on a spontaneous trip. I said yes, we arrived here after dark and found some company to laugh with and then we slept."
Elaine could hear Maisey's eyebrows raise across the line.
"Fine. We talked all night long… and had a pillow fight."
"A pillow fight? Seriously? You're with a hot British dude in the city of love and you have a pillow fight? Why are we friends?"
"I'll have you know it was very romantic. I won, but I suspect he let me."
Elaine heard footsteps ascending the stairs.
"Gotta go." Elaine said.
"No! Come on! Just one juicy detail."
"Fine. He's a really good kisser, we made out for, like, a century, and everytime he touches me it's like fireworks. There. Bye."
Elaine hung up just as Eggsy walked into the apartment.
"Who wants to explore Paris?" He asked with a gleam in his eye.
While Elaine and Eggsy began planning their day, unfortunate events were unfolding.
The sharp sound of typing filled the silence of the dingy apartment of Jim Meraldo. He had just gotten off the long shift at work and had fallen into a hacking hole while surfing the dark web. Fat, recluse, and bored, Jim had nothing better to do. He was just about to search the assassination listings out of boredom when the sound of a gun cocking sounded not an inch from his head.
"Jim Meraldo," An electronically scattered voice said.
The soda and junk food he had been binging fell to the floor as he jumped.
"What? What! How the hell d-"
"I'm talking." Cold metal jammed into the base of his neck. "A trusted friend told me you delete personal records."
"Yeah, for a few hundred bucks, asshole." His voice shook.
"How about your life?"
Their voice was monotonous and robotic. The coldness seeping out into the room and filling the air with dread.
Jim took a moment to evaluate.
"Fine. I need a name."
"Elaine Daniella."
Thinking about throwing out a few choice curses, Jim obeys and brought up a pretty red-head's information.
"Hot. She an ex-girlfriend of yours?" Fear made Jim say stupid things.
The gun prodded his neck with enough force the break skin. He could already tell it was starting to bruise.
"Delete it." The voice said with more force. "All of it."
Murdering the intruder mentally, Jim deleted the woman's information and carefully tilted the monitor to the attacker to prove that her page had been wiped.
A sharp pain erupted on his temple. Falling forward on his desk, Jim heard the front door close before blacking out.