Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this latest chapter.
Biscuits and Newspapers
Harry's stomach soon demanded food loudly enough that it couldn't be ignored, so that superseded any desire on both their parts to go back to bed. It also meant food needed to come first before they started trying to deal with the media storm they'd been pulled into while they'd been otherwise occupied. So together they went downstairs and Eggsy threw some sandwiches together for them to eat while Harry started to read the newspapers Amelia had dropped off for them. He was tempted to check out the video online to see what the comments were, but figured it was better to eat first. If he lost his appetite he wouldn't have the strength to handle what was coming their way.
Not that it should be that bad since Harry couldn't see a single way he could be portrayed as the villain in this. And all the articles he read in between bites suggested that that was indeed the case. It would have been one thing if someone had overheard and told everyone afterwards, but having an actual video for people to watch insured that the truth was known. Not that things weren't being sensationalized, of course they were, but at the end of the day Harry felt confident in thinking that all this would blow over with the press soon enough. And then it would just be the backlash from the Hesketh family they would have to worry about.
Nothing they could do about that though, especially since it wasn't like they hadn't already made it clear that they'd no longer be socializing with members of that family when they'd stood with Colin when he'd given Estelle Hesketh the public cut. The Heskeths were powerful, yes, but he and Eggsy could afford to be on their bad side. Especially with the Mortons backing them up.
Ergo once they were finished eating Harry's first order of business was to call the Morton household to see if Edward or Colin were available to speak to.
Sadly neither man was in residence at the moment, so the call passed over to Roxy. And after a minute or two of small talk she informed Harry that her father had put his back out while exercising and was currently visiting a chiropractor with Colin to get that straightened out. No pun intended.
That they both knew what 'exercise' was a euphemism for was very deliberately ignored since Roxy naturally didn't want to think about her father putting out his back while having sex with her mother. And who could blame her. So instead Harry just asked his mate's friend to pass along their hopes that Edward's back felt better and let both him and Colin know that they were ready to work together with them to deal with the press in order to present a united front. Roxy in turn informed him that Percival was handling all that for the family, so Harry should contact him about it.
Thanking her Harry wished her a good evening and then said goodbye, Eggsy echoing the sentiment from across the table.
"Tell him I said good night too." Roxy returned with a laugh before saying good night to Harry and hanging up.
"She wished you good night as well, and told me that Percival is acting as their official spokesperson on this. I'm going to call him now and see what we can do to help make this go away as timely as possible."
"Cheers. I'm gonna cut up some apples for dessert. Ya want?"
"That sounds lovely. Thank you."
"Anything for my mate." Eggsy assured him with a wink before heading off in the direction of the kitchen while Harry punched in the number Roxy had given him for Percival.
He was put on hold for a few minutes, no big deal, and then Percival came on the line to apologize for the wait.
"No problem. I know you must be busy at the moment. I'm simply calling to let you know that Eggsy and I are no longer indisposed and will be shouldering our fair share of the media storm we're all in. If you'd like to coordinate our responses or there's a line of questioning you'd prefer we avoid, you have only to let us know."
"Thank you. It's a nice change of pace to deal with someone willing to cooperate."
"I'm sorry?"
And just like that Percival was off and ranting in a very un Percival tone of voice. "Serena. She's not cooperating in the slightest. Did you know she's insisting on staying in her flat? She and her shop are being swarmed by the press daily! Both Roxanne and I have offered to let her stay with one of us, and I even offered to pay for a suite in the hotel of her picking if that wouldn't do, but she won't listen! I swear she is the most stubborn, pigheaded woman of my acquaintance."
Opening his mouth to comment, Percival cut him off before he could.
"Do you think Eggsy could talk some sense into her? Not that I think anyone could at this point. I even offered to move in with her if she wanted to stay in her own space. She accused me of using the situation to try and further my courtship if you can believe it. As if I would ever behave so unclothe. And when I told her so she hung up on me! And before that I offered to have our company's media consultant write up a statement for her that we could give to the press but she told me that she was perfectly capable of writing one on her own and that if I continued to treat her like a child she was going to behave like one."
A little wide eyed Harry continued to listen to the other man rant for the next five or six minutes, the young dominant hardly taking a breath in between, and then finally there was a long enough silence that Harry attempted again to speak up, doing his best to be as tactful as possible.
Though he completely understood why Serena had complained about Percival being a mother hen to Eggsy.
"I see your point of view, of course. But I think, perhaps, that you also need to think about it from a different perspective. Her shop and flat are her lair, Percival. No dragon willingly abandons their lair. Particularly in times of crisis. And while she is an omega Serena is also someone who's very used to taking care of herself. Is, in fact, most likely refusing your courtship partially on the grounds that she doesn't want to be treated like an omega. She grew up in the human world and wants to be treated like a human woman. Think about how your sister would react to things and you'll have better luck with Serena. I think."
While Percival processed that Harry helped himself to the plate of apple slices Eggsy had brought in for them. Biting into one as quietly as possible, Harry had to smile at the muttering he could hear coming from the other end.
Eggsy gave him a questioning look, Harry settling for giving him a look that hopefully conveyed that he'd explain once he was off the phone.
"So if I asked her for help dealing with the press…"
"You could make it a working dinner." Harry suggested, though playing matchmaker was not really his forte. But it sounded like a good idea to him.
"Would Eggsy agree with you? He knows her better."
"You can ask him. One moment." Pulling the phone away from his ear Harry handed it over to Eggsy. "Percival has a Serena question."
Snickering, Eggsy took the phone and greeted Percival with a smirk on his face.
Leaving them to their discussion, though he kept an ear out just in case he needed to save Percival from Eggsy's brand of advice, Harry thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the apple slices on the plate, though he held out the last one to his mate in case he wanted it. The spaghetti scene from 'Lady in the Tramp' played in the back of his mind too, though in this case Eggsy waved him off and let him have it for himself.
But he was still hungry, so Harry put up a finger to indicate he'd be back and then headed off to the kitchen to peruse their biscuit supply. There was plenty to choose from thanks to Eggsy's sweet tooth. And his own, in all honesty. And he didn't feel a twinge about picking the double chocolate chunk, either. It wasn't like he hadn't already worked off every calorie he'd consumed so far this week. He was going to eat whatever the hell he wanted for the rest of it.
Putting a bunch of the biscuits on a new plate, Harry got himself a glass of milk as well and then headed back into the dining room.
"Percival said ta thank ya for the advice. He had to take another call." Waving the hand that held Harry's phone, Eggsy passed it over once Harry sat down again. "He is gone over her."
"Quite. Biscuit?"
"Thanks, Luv."
Sharing smiles, Harry set the milk in between them as they settled in to discuss their media plans over milk and biscuits. Which was perfect, Harry decided as he leaned over to give his mate a kiss, savoring the taste of chocolate and Eggsy. That was perfect too.
)
The next day they headed for work like usual. The two reporters and cameraman waiting for them outside the building…that was new. And very much unwelcome as they got out of the cab they'd hired to take them to work. But at least the three were polite enough not to rush them straight away which gave Eggsy time to come around to join him, his mate wrapping a protective arm around his waist. And what the hell Harry decided as he wrapped an arm around Eggsy in turn. They'd face the reporters as a united front.
And because he was still craving the closeness of his mate, so sue him.
"Good morning, Mr. Hart. Mr. Unwin. I'm Charlotte Blake from 'The Guardian'." The reporter who spoke was sporting a huge, on air smile. She was very blonde and had teeth that were rather unnaturally white in Harry's opinion. Though her suit was excellently tailored. "I was wondering if I could take up a few minutes of your time?"
"We were both wondering." The second reporter tacked on, giving her competition a dark look. She had the look of a reporter desperate for a scoop. "Carol Kendrick, 'The Sun'."
Glancing over at Eggsy, who gave him a 'go ahead' nod, Harry smiled and then turned back to the women to inform them politely that they'd be releasing a joint statement that morning to the various news outlets, including their own. They were sure it would cover whatever the two women wanted to know about the video and their feelings on the matter.
"And will it also explain your relationship?" The Guardian reporter wanted to know, not about to give up that easily or leave without something the other legit reporters wouldn't have. "According to Mr. King your split from him was a 'joint' decision, Mr. Hart. With partners for each of you apparently waiting in the wing. Mr. King's…relationship with the new Mrs. King is well documented, but Mr. Unwin was assumed to be just your bodyguard up until the split. How long have the two of you been dating, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Our relationship is none of your business, Ms. Blake. Or your readers, for that matter. But in the interest of avoiding future misunderstandings about Eggsy and I, I'll state again that for the record I did not cheat on my former partner. The change in my relationship with Eggsy is a recent thing. Though we are very happy about that change and would appreciate it greatly if you would all respect our privacy. We both wish Mr. and Mrs. King all the best."
Harry couldn't blame the Sun reporter for the disbelieving brows she raised. He wouldn't believe it either in her shoes. Especially since he and Eggsy actually loathed the two people in question when they didn't have slivers of pity for Veronica.
"So you're friends with your ex partner's new wife?"
"She was the one who said we'd be a perfect couple." Eggsy informed Ms. Kendrick cheekily.
Only decades of training kept Harry from snorting in amusement.
"And she was right, wasn't she?"
Looking down at Eggsy, who grinned up at him so adorably, Harry couldn't resist leaning down to press his lips to the center of Eggsy's forehead. "She was."
The Sun reporter wasn't giving up. "Did you hurt your hand punching Charles Hesketh, Mr. Hart?"
Unwrapping his arm from Eggsy for a moment Harry held it up to show that the skin wasn't bruised, much less broken. "No."
"My man knows how to throw a punch."
"As does Serena."
"She's a good friend of yours. Yours in particular, Mr. Unwin."
The look Eggsy and Harry shared made it clear that they'd both caught what Ms. Blake was implying and didn't like it one little bit. Not that they were surprised that the press would at least float the idea that Eggsy had possibly had an affair with Serena at some point. That Eggsy looked vaguely insulted was a testament to how much he thought of Serena as family. Otherwise he would have been flattered.
"Serena is a family friend. I've known her since I was a sprog."
"We're both very fond of her." Harry added, which was the truth.
"And we really need to get to work, Ladies. So have a nice day."
Allowing Eggsy to steer him away Harry opened the door for them and slipped through, Eggsy right after him. The reporters, thankfully, knew better than to follow them into the building.
"That wasn't so bad."
"The Hesketh family and Serena are the big fish at the moment. And I would imagine that at least in 'The Guardian's' case our Guild Master made some calls. He's friends with the owner."
"Ah. Gotcha. And 'The Sun' would just wanna make shit up, so why bother askin us questions."
"Exactly."
Climbing up the steps towards their office in comfortable silence, Eggsy paused and pulled out his cellphone to read the text his phone must have signaled.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah. It's Roxy. Edward's doing better. Colin's taking it hard, blamin himself though. Edward's taking the week off from work, so it must have been bad." Eggsy winced in sympathy. "Rox's says he and Colin are going to Spain for some R and R and Percival and Roxy are running things until he gets back. Roxy is wondering if we can do lunch with her and Colin when they get back. If he's still feeling like shit about it."
"Of course. Just tell her to call Amelia when she's got a date and time."
Nodding Eggsy typed that message in and then shoved his phone back in his pocket. Then gave Harry a weird look.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Eggsy…"
"It's nothing. Really. It's just…your back…"
Understanding where Eggsy was going with this, and really not wanting to discuss how old he was getting, Harry gave Eggsy a shoulder squeeze. "My back is fine. I promise."
"Guess I'll just have to keep you on it as much as you'll let me."
Smacking Eggsy upside the head, it was completely called for, Harry told him to get his bum moving. They really did have work to get to after all.
And he really should look into getting a better chair for his office. Something with good back support. Just in case.
"Good morning." Getting out of her chair as soon as they stepped into the office, Amelia came around the desk to meet them. "I have today's papers here for you both to look over. And I'm sorry, but you two are on the front page of 'The Sun'."
"Wot?"
Mumbling a curse, Harry watched as she grabbed the top paper off her desk and held it out to him.
Taking it Harry cursed that much louder as he read the title. "'Rich Men and their Rebounds'?"
Eggsy came up beside Harry, the two standing as shoulder to shoulder as they could with their height differences while they stared at the photo on the front. One half was a picture of the Kings, the other half one of Harry and Eggsy. Both had been taken at the gala, and just looking at the pictures told a story. The Kings looked...strained. Fake smiles, the grip their Guild Master had on her arm looking more restraining than loving. By contrast the picture of him and Eggsy was actually quite lovely. Or at least they looked happy and together in a way that shone through, especially when contrasted with the other picture.
"King's gonna shite a brick over this."
Amelia grimaced. "He's called twice. He wanted you, Mr. Hart, to call him back as soon as you got in."
"I'll call him." Eggsy's voice was firm. "First though, how 'orrible is the rest of it?"
Checking the page number Harry started flipping through until he got to the article itself, which was actually laid out like Eggsy and Veronica were two different versions of a movie or something. There were actually subheadings like 'Who's Better Looking' and 'Better For Their Sugar Daddy's Career'.
"Did I win?" Eggsy crowded in. "Shit! I lost?! To HER?! I demand a sodding recount!"
"Since it's a competition to see which of you is the better trophy wife you should be glad you lost. You're not a trophy, some prize to brag about. You're so much more than that." And to emphasise that fact Harry very determinedly crumbled the paper between his hands. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a few more words for 'The Sun' reporter if she's still downstairs."
"Oh no you don't." Eggsy's arm wrapped back around him. "That will only make it worse."
And then Eggsy got up on tip toes to kiss Harry's check. "Though thanks for wantin ta come ta my rescue."
