Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else, and I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.
Figuring Things Out
It felt unreal to Harry, sitting in the brightly lit parlor, eating a lovely breakfast across from the young man who up until last night had been a valued friend and protégé in the most abstract of ways. Now Eggsy was his mate in the eyes of their guild and kind, they'd had sex multiple times last night, really good sex at that, and now here they were and Harry couldn't shake the feeling that any moment now he'd either wake up and find out that this had all just been a fever induced dream…or discover that he'd somehow fallen into an alternate universe. Or a Doctor Who episode, it was just that sci fi and unreal.
Nor did the fact that Eggsy hadn't stopped smirking at him since he'd stumbled off to shower and get dressed help Harry regain his equilibrium, the boy was obviously feeling more than a little smug about his performance the night before and this morning. Which wasn't to say that the boy didn't have reason to feel smug, Harry was more than willing to join Eggsy's previous lovers in giving the other man top marks in the bedroom, but at the moment he sorta wanted to slap the cat that got the cream look off Eggsy's face just because.
"Do ya need a kiss to turn that frown upside down?" Eggsy's voice was teasing, the boy wiggling his eyebrows for exaggerated emphasis as he continued to tease him from across the table.
A day ago he would have given the little shite a really rude hand gesture for that…oh fuck it. Harry gave it to him anyway, his lips twitching a little in reluctant amusement when Eggsy's response was to laugh in delight, apparently not minding being told non verbally to go fuck himself one little bit.
"Sorry, sorry. I know you're never at your best until after breakfast."
Truer words had never been spoken, especially since Harry knew he wasn't awake enough to really argue or discuss all the things they needed to talk about now that he knew Eggsy wanted them to be a real mated couple. Thinking that they were late for the day's events had cleared his brain up enough that he was capable of holding a conversation, but not a serious one.
Really what he wanted was to be alone for a couple hours to take stock of things and sneak a couple shots of whiskey despite the earlier hour, but that wasn't going to happen today. Not the last part, anyway. Harry had no doubt there'd be plenty of alcohol available at the mating celebration they'd be attending later. Thank the gods. Though wait…
"What did you tell them, about us not showing up before the mating ceremony?" Just thinking about it had Harry narrowing his eyes somewhat threateningly in his mate's direction, though he was actually rather torn about it. On the one had it would be embarrassing if Eggsy had been blunt about wanting to keep Harry in bed for a marathon morning of sex, while on the other hand…he rather liked the idea that people right now were thinking that he was man enough to keep Eggsy in their bed all morning and afternoon.
Harry could actually see Eggsy consider winding him up with some no doubt outrageous lies before the younger man reined himself and his questionable sense of humor in to give him a straight answer.
"I said it was our wedding night and we'd be sleeping in."
Hmm. Considering this was Eggsy Harry was well aware that the younger man had shown an unusual amount of tact if that was true. One less thing to worry about, anyway.
"So that vague enough for ya?"
Shaking his head a little, Harry gestured a little with his tea as he stated the obvious. "Everyone will just believe that we didn't want to spend the day 'celebrating' Chester-The Guild Master's mating to the new Consort." He needed to remember that he no longer had the right to call their guild master by his first name. Yay. Though he was going to internally choke on calling Veronica his consort for as long as he lived. Ugh.
"Well that was the silver lining." Eggsy agreed after he'd finished chewing his bite of sausage. "Though I'mma gonna be a little insulted if some of them ain't thinkin that I'm good enough in the sheets for two people. I mean who wouldn't think I'm total aces compared to that dried up turd you was mated to."
Lips twitching, Harry had to make himself point out that Eggsy needed to pretend some respect for the head of their Guild. There'd be hell to pay if Eggsy ever slipped up around the wrong set of ears.
"So you is always tellin me. Ain't caught me yet, though, now has he?"
"Or he thinks sticking you with me for a mate is punishment enough for the faces and names you call him behind his back."
"Which just proves how dim the gobshite really is. Giving me you is rewarding me for my bad behavior."
Laughing in spite of himself, Harry didn't know quite what to say to that. To the idea that Eggsy actually considered being saddled with him a reward and not a punishment. Because while Eggsy could beguile and lie through his teeth without any the wiser quite flawlessly at times, but Harry knew the boy too well to be so easily tricked. His new mate genuinely meant it, which begged the question of why Eggsy would think that way. It wasn't like the boy was after his money, because if that was it Harry knew of several rich beds Eggsy had previously occupied, and knew at least a few of them would have been more than happy to make the boy their own. And most of those other dragons were much closer to Eggsy's age than his own, not to mention probably much better in bedroom.
"A'rry?" Eggsy's tone of voice suggested that this wasn't the first time his mate had tried to get his attention.
"Oh, sorry. Did you say something? My mind wandered for a moment."
"Well whatever ya was thinkin about, stop it." Eggsy waved his fork in Harry's direction for emphasis. "Only good thoughts on our post mating day or I'm gonna take it personal."
"My apologies. It's not the company, I assure you."
"No need ta be sorry. I get that last night was a bit of a…mind fuck for ya. Though I hope ya wasn't thinkin bout the fun stuff with that look on your face."
Trying to avoid talking about what he'd been thinking for a little longer, especially since he didn't want to ruin their morning for multiple reasons, Harry curved his lips into an amused smile as he asked if he'd told Eggsy lately how much he loved the way Eggsy fluctuated between his native 'grammar' and the proper grammar the boy had picked up since joining the Guild.
In answer Eggsy stuck out his tongue at Harry, lightening the mood once more as they traded smiles as they turned their attention to their breakfast while teasing and dryly commenting on proper Guild behavior together.
But for all their lighthearted banter Harry could see plainly in Eggsy's eyes that the younger man knew that Harry was avoiding all the elephants in the room around them with the idle chit chat he kept coming up with. And while Eggsy was letting him get away with that for now…he didn't like it and Eggsy was not known for his patience.
Once brunch was over Eggsy got up from his seat and came around the table, Harry watching him from the corner of his eye until Eggsy was standing right beside his chair. Only then did Harry tilt his head up to meet Eggsy's gaze, unable to read the emotions and thoughts there as the boy had locked those down tight all of a sudden.
It was a look that had Harry's stomach immediately cramping up, the food he'd just eaten starting to greasily turn his stomach as he waited for the harsh words he knew were coming, having obviously displeased his mate with his refusal to talk about the night before. God, he was so stupid, how could he have forgotten how important it was to praise and stroke Eggsy's ego? Chester had always lashed out at even the faintest hint that he'd in any way failed Harry in the bedroom. It was just that this was Eggsy and he hadn't…
"A'rry." Voice soft, the hand that cupped his cheek gentle, Eggsy's eyes now showed a sad understanding, Harry blinking up at him in confusion. "You wanna go read with me?"
"Read?"
"Yeah. We got a few hours to burn before Afternoon Tea, if ya want to go to that, and I figured we'd just chill here till then. I got my kindle, and the newspaper came with the food."
It took him a moment, then Harry whispered a quick "Fuck" to himself before he pushed back his chair and got to his feet, moving around it to stand in front of Eggsy and pull him into his arms, holding his mate against his chest in a bear hug that Harry really hoped conveyed how grateful he was that they were mates and how sorry he was that Chester had fucked with his mind to the point where he kept painting Eggsy with the same brush. And Eggsy did not deserve that. He deserved far better than that. Far better than Harry.
Arms wrapped tight around Harry in return, Eggsy's voice was light as he asked if Harry wanted the paper or his kindle.
"I'll take the paper."
"Good plan. You probably wouldn't approve of what's on my kindle as is." And on that note Eggsy pulled away, his right hand giving Harry's arse a sorta pat, sorta teasing smack. "Now back into bed with ya, I'll go and get them. None of these chairs are remotely comfortable."
"So long as you don't hog the covers."
Grinning, which had been Harry's goal in the first place, Eggsy smirked at him. "No promises."
)
A few hours later Harry came out of the bathroom, having changed into a lightweight suit for tea and the ceremony afterwards. The sight of Eggsy standing by the bed, in the process of buttoning up his dress shirt, had Harry going still to watch the golden skin disappear behind the material, Eggsy obviously aware of his presence but not glancing in his direction as he finished his shirt and then turned to scoop up the tie he'd left lying on the rumpled bedspread beside him.
Seeing the tie gave him an idea, Harry moving forward as he spoke. "I'll do that for you."
Harry knew how much Eggsy's hated wearing ties, much less tying them. His boy might love looking good in a suit upon occasion, but Eggsy usually had to tie a tie at least a couple times before he got the knot right. Tying it for Eggsy, well it was a small thing, but he…he wanted to take care of Eggsy the way his mate had taken care of him since…well always, really. Eggsy had always had his back.
Relief on his face, Eggsy handed over the tie immediately. "Cheers. Thanks."
Looping the tie around Eggsy's neck in a practiced move, he'd taught the boy how to tie the majority of the knots his mate knew, it wasn't until he moved even closer into Eggsy's personal space to do the actual tying that it occurred to Harry why this particular scene was often included in romances. Ah. Huh. Oops?
But tying a tie at this point was pure muscle memory, so Harry's hands knew what to do even as his mind was focused completely on his other senses and what they were relaying to him. The scent of Eggsy's skin and cologne, the heat of his mate's body and his own reminding him of the night before and the amount of heat their bodies had generated together. He couldn't help but remember how much his hands had loved touching Eggsy, and how sensual and erotic it had felt to be touched in turn by his mate. His body was reacting to the memories too, Harry realizing that he was half hard and that Eggsy was very aware of that fact which messed with his head. The heat that had flared in those bright green eyes made that obvious.
Forcing himself to step back, if he kissed Eggsy now he wasn't sure what would happen, Harry smiled to hopefully make it clear he wouldn't have minded kissing Eggsy, though he got the feeling Eggsy hadn't got the message.
But before Harry could figure out whether he should kiss Eggsy to clear the air, or if it would seem forced and awkward, Eggsy asked him if he was ready to go, Harry nodding automatically.
"Let's go then."
Shit. He really needed to find his fucking balls, Harry harshly told himself, feeling disgusted with himself as they headed out of the bedroom and front parlor, Harry falling into step with Eggsy as soon as they'd left the suite to head down the deserted hallway that would lead to the main staircase. This was Eggsy walking side by side with him. Eggsy. Whatever else was between them, and whatever else they needed to work out and talk about, this was still his Eggsy. Who he was hadn't changed, just the nature of their relationship. And if he got nothing through his own thick head today that needed to sink in ASAP.
Reaching over as he mentally said to hell with his feelings about the appropriateness of public displays of affection, Harry grabbed Eggsy's hand and laced their fingers together. Fuck it. There wasn't even anyone around to see them, anyway.
Looking down at their joined hands, then over at Harry, Eggsy gave him a pleased little smile and lifted a questioning brow.
"We are the dragon equivalent of newlyweds." Which sounded stuff and prim of him, and Harry just barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes over how badly he was handling this. You'd think he was the boy in this relationship.
"That we are." And to punctuate his agreement Eggsy brought this joined hands up to place a flirty kiss against the back of Harry's hand.
'You should kiss him.' Harry's dragon hissed in his head, his other half having apparently reached his limit for letting their human side act the fool. Normally his dragon half wouldn't have bothered, used to being ignored, but last night had apparently riled him up enough to make him try and order around his human side. 'His shower washed off most of our scent, and everyone should know he's ours. That he belongs to us. You know how many admirers he has. Make it clear to them that they couldn't keep him, but he's ours now.'
'You just want the sex.'
'That doesn't even need to be stated. Just because you weren't in control last night doesn't mean you didn't feel everything I did. If you had any sense at all we'd still be in that room fucking him.'
'Pervert.'
'Scared Puritan.'
'I am not scared or a prude.'
'Then press our mate up against that wall and bruise his lips red and touch him so that he knows that every inch of his body belongs to us.'
"Dammit." Stupid mental images.
"A'rry?"
Realizing he'd said that outloud, Harry sighed and then explained himself, since he had a feeling this was going to happen more often in the future. "Ordinarily my dragon remains silent unless he's really upset, he's used to my human side being in control and ignoring his more…primitive thoughts and impulses."
"Last night woke him up a bit?" The expression Eggsy wore made it clear he liked the idea.
"Indeed."
"And what's he sayin, then?"
'Tell him.' Was Harry's dragon's sly opinion on the matter. 'At least he has the balls to take what he wants, unlike you. Or let me out. I'll make him forget all about everything else.'
Oh, that was it. It was bad enough when everyone else thought or talked about him like that about him behind his back, but even his own consciousness was doing it when he was just stressed out enough to care. Dammit. Fuck it. "Look at me, please."
Letting Eggsy's hand go as soon as his mate had turned to face him squarely, Harry placed his freed hand on the center of the other man's chest and used it to gently push Eggsy backward until his mate's back hit the wall with a surprisingly loud thud in the empty hallway, Eggsy's eyes flaring up with anticipation and desire as he stayed still and quiet there. Letting Harry make all the moves, which Harry was willing to do as he cradled Eggsy's face in his hands as he lowered his head a little to speak in a low voice meant for Eggsy's ears only.
"I want to make you happy. No one deserves it more. And I want to be happy as well, and I think you're right, that we could be very happy together." Actually he was still worried that he'd make Eggsy miserable, but for the moment Harry was trying to be optimistic. "I'm going to make a mess of things, I've never been in a relationship like this before. But I'll work as hard as you are to make this work. I can promise you that."
"Likewise."
To seal the promise, so to speak, as well as prove to them both that his dragon half didn't have to be in control for him to show Eggsy that he was wanted, Harry cocked his head a little to the side and then lined up their lips in a passionate kiss that employed some of the very effective techniques Eggsy had taught him the night before, as well as some of his own rusty but rapidly coming back to him skills.
Brilliant.
