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The Safety of Home
While there was safety in numbers and Harry was normally very fond of Colin and Merlin's families, he was still completely behind the idea of splitting up once they got back to the city. They all needed their individual families right now; especially his friends who had children they could physically hug and fuss over at the moment. As it was Harry's hands pretty much remained glued to his stomach the entire car ride with Eggsy's free hand doing the same as he cuddled in as close to Harry's side as he could. By the time they pulled up in front of their house it was all either of them could do to say goodbye to everyone before vacating the car with Eggsy's arm protectively wrapped around Harry's waist.
They waved and then hurried as quickly as possible to the front door, Eggsy opening it and holding it open for Harry while scanning the road for any sign of danger. Threats to their son.
As soon as Harry was inside the house Eggsy followed in after and then locked the door behind them with more force than was technically necessary.
"Right. Why don't ya get out of that suit while I make sure the house is secure."
"We'll look together." As much as Lee was his first priority, their first priority, it was still too soon after seeing a world without Eggsy in it too. Harry didn't want to let his mate out of his sight any time soon.
Eggsy looked like he thought he should argue but couldn't get the words out. Harry didn't think he was wrong to assume that Eggsy didn't want to leave his side either. His mate was probably as traumatized by what they'd seen as he was.
And with that in mind Harry reached out and linked their fingers together.
"Together." Eggsy agreed with a smile.
So they walked around the first level of the house together, making sure that everything was locked up for the night and that J.B. was fine. Their 'guard' dog was currently passed out in his basket with his favorite stuffed kitten toy. Since they were there they gave him some loving pats, smiling over his ridiculous cuteness longer than most would have and the headed upstairs to their bedroom.
Once there their hands separated only so that they could get out of their suits as quickly and efficiently as possible. Harry didn't care and in fact copied Eggsy when it came to just draping his clothing over a chair rather than hanging them up properly. Screw the suits. He'd think of today every time he looked at every piece of both suits. He'd burn it all if it weren't such a waste. He'd donate them.
It was a testament to the day they'd already had that the sight of Eggsy naked did nothing for him as they sent each other sidelong looks to check the other wellness. Because it did comfort Harry to see his mate so close to him. Alive and with him. Because while he hadn't been shown a scenario where he lived and Eggsy alone was killed...Harry had been imagining it enough lately that he felt he had. Many times over.
"In ta bed, yeah?"
"Yes. That's a plan."
Together they headed for the bed and split up just long enough to get in on their preferred side before getting under the covers and shuffling over to meet in the middle and cuddle, skin to skin. Harry pressed his back against Eggsy's chest, Eggsy's arm wrapping around his waist so that he could stroke the skin over Harry's stomach. There was no lump or roundness there to indicate their son's presence under Harry's skin, but that didn't matter. They knew he was here. And they'd do everything and anything to make sure they were around to raise him properly. And be in Lee's life until he and his sister reached adulthood at least. Oh, and the grandchildren mentioned in the last vision. Though the idea of having grandchildren was as mind-blowing as the idea that he would be a parent soon.
"Wot ya thinkin?"
"We're going to be...grandparents."
Their closeness meant that Harry felt the chuckle of amusement build up in Eggsy's chest before it bubbled out of mouth. "We should worry bout the kids first, not the reward for havin them in the first place."
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, it was somethin I read once. That grandkids are a parents' reward for not killin their children."
It was Harry's turn to chuckle and shake his head in amusement. "I see. Well I guess we'll know if that's true eventually. Though raising two grand high dominant children is bound to be a wholly unique experience. I'm not sure how much good any advice from others will be."
"We'll manage. And everythin will be perfectly imperfect."
"Perfectly imperfect? Yes, that's exactly right."
"And at least we can tell Mum and Dais now. Bout the baby. Dais is gonna freak. It will be like bein an older sister for her. Plus she'll find the idea of being an aunt already freakin hilarious. People's reactions are going to be funny as hell." Eggsy laughed again. "Wonder if he'll love avocado."
"Avocado? Do babies like that?"
"Some do. I knew this one kid, he ate it with every friggin meal. When I babysat him back in the day he'd go nuts over it. Fuckin freak when he'd ate it all and I wouldn't give him no more. His parents bought im a friggin avocado tree, it was that bad. They still have it too. Not that he touches them anymore. Avocados, I mean. Guess it was like the peanut brittle and Colin."
"Well there are certainly worse fruits he could have chosen."
"True. There's some really weird shit out there, fruit and veggies wise. Like those durian things."
"Quite."
Lapsing into silence, both probably well aware that they were trying to talk about anything BUT the horrors they'd seen and experienced earlier, Harry sighed and closed his eyes.
"No bad thoughts." Eggsy informed him before kissing his shoulder tenderly, pulling the comforter further up afterwards for better snuggling. "Or make a list of all the things we don't have to worry about because our baby ain't human. Cause if he was, believe me we'd have WAY more ta freak out about, Luv."
"Oh really?" Somehow Harry doubted that.
"Well just for starters, we don't got ta worry about SIDS, I'm guessing. Or get freaked out by the soft spot on his head every time we touch it. Or do dragons not have those?"
"Dragon babies in human form are soft too, yes."
"Nah, a soft spot. I don't know what the doctors call it officially, but with human babies their skulls ain't all in one piece yet. It's, like, in...five pieces? And the gaps in between, where it ain't solidified yet, those are soft spots. I mean the books all say that those spots ain't really soft, the stuff in between is pretty strong too, but it's weird as fuck to touch."
"You can't be serious?" The idea was horrifying.
"Really. Ya can look it up and everything."
"Why would it be constructed like that? How..."
"I think the books said it was ta make it easier for their heads ta, yeah know, get out of there."
Harry couldn't see Eggsy's face, but he could imagine what it looked like. His was probably fairly similar.
Another silver lining. Birthing an egg in dragon form was probably a hell of a lot easier than hours of labor. Especially if the child was on the large side. Not to mention the fact that he was now remembering certain facts he'd learned in school or through human acquaintances about what human women went through while pregnant and giving birth...and well quite frankly he shuddered just thinking about it.
"Uhm...sorry. A large egg probably ain't that much fun ta...expel, neither."
If someone had suggested that he'd be able to laugh today after the way it had been going he'd have called them mad. Yet here he was, laughing in spite of himself.
Which had probably been Eggsy intention.
"I love you."
Eggsy nuzzled against him as he returned the sentiment. And hugged him closer.
Which was nice, but Harry couldn't help but ask the obvious question circling both their thoughts.
"Do you really think it will work? What the Keepers did?"
A couple moments pause.
"I think people are fucked up, and even knowin that something ain't gonna work or ain't worth the cost hasn't stopped people before. What they did is gonna help, no question. Get rid of the ones smart enough ta see that they ain't gonna be able ta control our kids. Lest not for long. But our kind have been fuckin with grand high dominants as long as they've been around from the sounds of it. If anythin, it's the fucking elves that are gonna save the day."
True. Harry might not know a hell of a lot about the events surrounding his own grand high dominant ancestor, but he knew enough to know that the Guild she'd been born into had paid a steep price in lives to keep her safe and with them until she was old enough to do the protecting herself. You could mess with grand high dominants when they were children to a degree, but once they reached adulthood their enemies knew to give them a very wide berth.
"Having the Keepers on our side will help too." Harry pointed out after a minute or two of depressing silence.
"Yeah. Ours is surprisingly badarse. I like her."
Shaking his head against his pillow, that was not a world one usually applied to Keepers, Harry had to agree that he'd been very impressed with theirs as well. She would be a great ally in the future.
"Actually, fuck it. We got this. I mean think about it, Harry." Sitting up abruptly Eggsy stared down at him, Harry shifting onto his back to look at him. "Our kind are fucking dying out, Harry. There's hardly any of us left really, and most of us are more human than dragon at this point even if their blood's as 'pure' as yours. And hell, from the looks of it there won't be a fucking world left for anyone cept the elves without Lee and Diana acting as Guardians of the Galaxy. We just gotta make it clear ta everyone that they're gonna make an enemy out of everyone else if they try and take our babies from us."
"Some people don't care if the world's a wasteland so long as they rule it, Eggsy."
"Yeah...but...but fuck it, Harry. We got ta believe we can do this. That everything is gonna work out right and we're gonna live ta old age and we don't understand a fuckin thing that comes out of our grandkids' mouths cause it's all slang we don't understand. If we let ourselves believe otherwise we're already fucked. Already lost and Lee and Diana will suffer for it. We got ta keep them safe and still raise em like they're normal kids so that they grow up right. Not gods, royalty, or fucking prisoners cause we want ta wrap em up in bubble wrap and hide em in a tower somewhere where no one can fucking find them. You and me, Harry. We can do this. Understand?"
Looking at his mate, who looked like he might erupt into fire at any moment like something out of a cartoon to denote how 'fired up' he was about this, Harry couldn't honestly say that he had Eggsy's optimism or confidence right now. But for his mate and children...he'd try.
"We can do it." Please, let them be able to do this.
Eggsy held out a hand to him. "We're gonna be a family, and we're gonna be happy. Promise."
Taking the hand Harry squeezed it tight in his. "Promise."
"We got this." Eggsy repeated, bringing their joined hands up to his lips to kiss the back of Harry's. "You and me can do anythin we set our minds to. You'll see."
"You and I." Harry corrected with a smirk, just to bring a smile to Eggsy's face.
And one to his own.
)
Neither of them had gotten much in the way of quality sleep the night before, worrying about King's reaction to their big announcement. Add that to their mental and emotional exhaustion and Harry supposed it wasn't that surprising that they ended up falling asleep despite all the new things they had to think and worry about. It was their stomachs that eventually had them waking up and throwing aside the covers to get dressed again in casual, comfortable clothes. And since neither of them was in the mood to cook and nothing in their fridge or cupboards struck them as proper 'comfort food' they decided to order in.
Harry also wanted spring rolls, and wasn't above using pregnancy cravings as an excuse to get them.
So Eggsy got out his phone and whistled at something on his screen. "Holy fuck. I've missed twenty-eight phone calls. As in twenty-eight different numbers, not the number in total. And that's not even counting all the fuckin texts from people. And how did half these people get my number?"
"Oh. Damn. I have a feeling I don't want to see how many calls I've missed."
"Pretty safe bet, yeah." Eggsy said as he swiped through some message. "And as of fifteen minutes or so King and Veronica ain't come out of their trances yet. Rachel figures they will soon though, since Kobayashi came out of just before she sent the message. She says she's pretty sure he won't be bothering us in the future."
"We're still destroying him." That was nonnegotiable. And even if he were to forgive...Colin wouldn't. Ever. Not for this. It didn't matter that what they'd been shown had never and would never happen. The fact that it would have happened was enough.
Eggsy smirked. "That goes without saying. He'll probably be looking into real estate in Antartica after this. Just ta get as far away from us as he can."
"It won't do him any good."
"I don't think he's completely stupid, so he probably knows that. Think he'll resign as Guild Master?"
"Yes. Or they'll force him to resign. He's out, one way or another."
Eggsy phone went off again, signaling that he'd gotten another text from someone.
Damn. And they'd just keep on coming, wouldn't they? The calls and texts. They were unavoidable and they couldn't ignore them, as attractive as that thought was. Not for long, anyway. "You place the order and I'll go get mine from upstairs. My phone, I mean. We can deal with the messages we want to reply to while we wait for dinner to arrive."
"You got it."
Leaving Eggsy to it after reminding him to get extra spring rolls, Harry headed upstairs with J.B. following close behind, keeping him company. It was tempting to pick the pug up for a cuddle, especially since he was still very much in the mood for it, but unfortunately he and Eggsy had been overfeeding the dog just a little and it was starting to show. J.B. needed the exercise.
Reaching the bedroom with J.B. lagging behind him by quite a lot Harry headed over to the chair he'd left his trousers draped over and retrieved his cellphone from his pocket. Turning the screen on...
"Shit."
He'd missed fifty-seven different callers. There were only a few text messages, but that was to be expected. His generation frowned on such things, while Eggsy's couldn't seem to go an hour without sending one.
Sigh.
Listening to all these messages and answering them was going to take the rest of the evening. Especially if they kept calling. Hopefully they'd stop when the hour made it rude to call, but then there was always tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. Etc etc. Ugh. Like he didn't already have enough things to think and worry about.
Needing to sit for a moment Harry walked over to the bed and sat down, reaching down to scoop up J.B. for additional comfort as he set the phone aside for the time being.
Cuddling the pug against his chest Harry sighed over the predicament he found himself in.
"You know by the time one reaches my age one's life is supposed to be routine. Or at least fairly predictable. You've married and had your children, most likely been working in your chosen profession for well over a decade. You've bought a home and have settled in it, everything in its place and habits long ingrained when it comes to the shops you visit and the routes you take to get there. Not so long ago my life was settled and I was resigned to it never changing. Never getting better. And now look at me. J.B. Everything keeps changing from week to week and it feels like I've hardly adapted to the latest change before things get all jumbled again. Everything tilting on its axis all over again."
As though he understood, J.B. nuzzled his face against Harry's chest.
"You're right, all these changes might make my head spin like something out of 'The Exorcist' at times...but they're good changes. Wonderful changes. Even when they're scaring the bloody hell out of me. I don't even know how this is my life now. It was never meant to be, and now I have to figure out how to manage being mated, having a career. And now with a baby on the way..."
Their baby. Their son. His and Eggsy's. Lee Andrew Unwin-Hart.
Just thinking about his son, the name he and Eggsy had chosen for him, made Harry smile like an idiot. Even as he ruefully acknowledged that things were going to get crazy soon.
"We could take Lee to work with us, couldn't we? I mean we'd have to have him taken out of the room when we had a meeting...but we could take all our meetings in the boardroom and just not let anyone into our personal office. One of us could always stay with him, and if not than Colin's already volunteered to babysit whenever we need him to."
An offer it was going to be hard not to take advantage of, truth be told.
So much to do. So little time to do it in.
