Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original ideas and characters. Thank for reading!

A Gentleman Adapts

Showing Daisy Eggsy's room did seem to help the child understand that she wasn't going to be separated from her brother anytime soon, and that he was, in fact, going to stay close to her from now on. Or at least Harry hoped that that was what her willingness to return to her room and really explore it meant. Either way as long as Eggsy remained in the room, which Daisy made sure he did with pointed looks every minute or so, the toddler was willing to wander around her room and actually smile and touch her new toys and furniture.

Joining Eggsy in leaning up against the wall close to the door to watch, Harry hoped that physically aligning himself with her brother, with Eggsy allowing it, would help his ward come to understand that he was on her side. Because the suspicious looks she was occasionally throwing his way were doing nothing to reassure him that this wasn't going to blow up epically in his faces.

The road to hell was paved with good intentions after all.

"She's slow ta warm ta people. Most people she's met ain't been…good people on the whole. Not the ones she knew well, I mean. Once she sees that ya ain't mean or pissed all the time she'll come round. She'll see that ya got a…" Eggsy trailed off then, his cheeks flushing a little again as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I have a?"

Eggsy looked at his trainers when he answered. "…a reassuring…safe air about ya. That you're the protector type, not the sort that'd hurt her."

"No. I will never hurt her. Deliberately." Harry amended, since it went without saying that he was going to say the wrong things or disappoint her at some point. Especially the older she got. Teenagers. Shudder.

"Wouldn't have let ya have her if I thought otherwise."

Technically the law had been determined to hand Daisy over to him and not Eggsy, but Harry wasn't about to discount the boy's intelligence or the lengths Eggsy would go to for his little sister. And as the saying went, where there was a will, there was a way. He knew that better than most.

Turning his attention back to Daisy, it seemed advisable to keep his eyes on her at all times, just in case, Harry watched her pet one of her old toys affectionately before abandoning it to pet the stuffed elephant beside it. Eggsy hadn't bought her that many toys, at least not in comparison to his own experiences as a child visiting the rooms of others. Even he'd had more toys than Daisy had at the moment, but then he couldn't remember how many he'd had at three so perhaps the volume of them was just supposed to double with every year or so. Then it would make sense to start off with the bare minimum. Plus how many toys did a not spoiled rotten child need? Because he was quite sure the majority of his childhood playmates had grown up to be entitled wankers. His mother had spoiled him somewhat too, Harry acknowledged, but even a child knew when he was being bribed, and so the receiving of some toy or treat had usually been followed by the suspicion and dread on his part. Unusually justifiably so.

Not to mention it had taken his mother embarrassingly long to figure out that he'd stopped being interested in the childish toys she gave him. Really only one toy had remained beloved all through his childhood and into adulthood, but Harry supposed that was fairly normal for most people. Speaking of which…

"Is her favorite toy in one of these bags?"

"Huh?"

Harry consider for a moment pointing out 'pardon' was the correct response, but dismissed the idea for the moment as he repeated his question.

"Oh. Daisy don't got a favorite, really. Not now."

The shadow that crossed Eggsy's face foreshadowed the answer to the question Harry posed, which was what had happened to her favorite toy.

"Dean chucked it." Was the harsh, hate filled answer. "He got mad at her, threw it out with the rubbish when I weren't around. I got her another, looked just like Pengie, but it weren't him and she knew it, even at two. After that she hid em, her toys, in my room. I'd fine em in the weirdest places. Anyway, she ain't had a favorite since she lost that bloody penguin."

"Well perhaps she'll find a new favorite amongst her new ones."

"Maybe." A shrug, then a sly look replaced the boy's scowl. "What was your fav toy when you was a lad?"

"I have a teddy bear named Toto that's been mine since I was a baby. What's left of his fur hasn't been white in decades, and I stretched his arms out rather horribly, but I still have him."

Harry was secure in his masculinity, not to mention the fact that his discrete search of the boy's room for drugs or the likes when Eggsy hadn't been around meant that he knew Eggsy had a stuffed lamb hidden away in his own room. A reminder of the boy's childhood no doubt, and which had certainly shown signs of being well loved too.

"Toto?"

Harry shrugged, since it wasn't like he could ask his younger self why he'd thought the name appropriate at the time. And he was opening his mouth to ask Eggsy about his own favorite toy, curious as to whether or not the boy would own up to the lamb, when Daisy interrupted him.

"Eggsy."

Joining Eggsy in turning his attention back to Daisy again, Harry saw that the girl was holding a somewhat oddly shaped stuffed animal, a fox, in her brother's direction. Or at least that's what Harry assumed the animal was, though the structure of the creature suggested it had some other purpose to it rather than simply a regular toy. Possibly. He was far from a stuffed animal expert, after all.

Pushing off from the wall Eggsy hunkered down with her and explained that that was a special fox that you could warm up in the microwave and then go to sleep with ta keep a warm. It smelled real nice, apparently, and Eggsy had thought she'd like it.

Big eyed, Daisy clutched the oddly shaped fox closer to her chest, the little girl obviously concerned about what would happen if her new toy was actually put in a microwave, which Harry assumed would not end well for a normal stuffed animal.

It also sounded like something a sadistic bastard like Dean would do to something his daughter loved, may the bastard burn in hell for all eternity, which explained her reaction too.

Obviously understanding her thought process as well, Eggsy reassured her that this was a special stuffie, and the only one that would be going into the microwave. If she liked they'd go downstairs and he'd show her that Mr. Fox would be alright if he went into the microwave for a little while. Oh, and only he and Harry were allowed to put Mr. Fox or anything else in the microwave, and she must always ask first, which Harry thought was a wise rule for the boy to make.

Still wary, but also intrigued, Daisy agreed to come with Eggsy to warm up Mr. Fox so that she could see for herself that it didn't hurt him.

To save them time getting down the stairs, or just for the comfort of holding the child, Eggsy scooped up Daisy into his arms again, carrying her out of the room with Harry trailing after them despite his mental wish to flee to his office or some other room. This first day he'd had Merlin clear his schedule, and the least he could do was be around the girl for a decent chunk of time, her first day in this new world she was entering.

Tomorrow would be soon enough to leave her in Eggsy's care to return to his normal, child free world at work. Possibly at a dead run.

And on the A side going with them into the kitchen meant he had the pleasure of stepping into a room that smelled absolutely delicious. He'd never been so happy to step into his kitchen before. His stomach growled a little from the scents alone, despite having eaten only a couple of hours ago.

Daisy obviously felt the same, since as soon as Eggsy put her down on her feet the girl went straight for the oven window to try and peer inside it. it took her a moment to realize the smells weren't coming from there, but from the counter where Harry spotted some new cooking device Eggsy had bought and put the food in earlier.

"Woast?" Daisy asked hopefully, pointing at it.

"Yup, we're having roast. And guess what else we're having that's your favorite."

Very slowly the little girl turned around to stare at her brother for several heartbeats, the size her brown eyes could achieve shocking Harry a little even before Daisy gave an ear-piercing shriek of happiness that actually made Harry jump back and bash his hip into a counter. Thankfully he hardly felt it as his ward screamed something about princess marshmallow jell-o.

"Easy, Daisy, Easy!" Laughing through his wincing, so at least Harry wasn't the only one whose eardrums were currently suffering, Eggsy scooped Daisy up and gave her a light toss into the air which did nothing to help Harry recover his equilibrium even when the boy caught her easily the three times he did it, to no doubt distract that girl from shrieking again. "And yeah, I'm makin ya your special marshmallow jell-o. Harry said I could."

He hadn't been consulted about tonight's menu at all aside from Eggsy making a list of foods Harry was allergic to or didn't like to eat, but Harry supposed aligning him with this special jell-o was Eggsy way of convincing Daisy to like him. A successful deception, Harry noted, when the little girl shot him a grateful look before hiding her face against Eggsy's neck again.

"Now let's heat up Mr. Fox and then maybe you'll have a nap, yeah, since you was sick and need ta get all better with lots of sleep."

Ah. The heat to lull her into tiredness, Harry realized. Genius. He'd have to remember that trick.

It worked remarkably well after all, as in a few short minutes Daisy had her warm, lavender scented Mr. Fox to cuddle with, and that plus Eggsy holding and rocking her against his chest soon had her eyes struggling to stay open now that the shocks to her system weren't coming quite so fast and big.

And then she was out between one breath and the next.

"How long will she sleep for?" Harry asked once he was sure she was out for the count and his voice wouldn't startle her back into something resembling awareness.

"An hour or two. Ya can escape somewhere if ya want till supper."

Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, Harry told Eggsy that he'd be in his study if he needed him and then made a break for it.

)

Losing all sense of time as he waded through the piles of paperwork on his desk, the bloody stuff was as time sucking as it was to the soul, Harry was jolted out of his concentration by the sound of a knock at his door, a glance at his laptop making him wince to discover that it was very close to the time that Eggsy had stated was Daisy's normal suppertime, as young children ate very early in the evening. She would have also been awake for a while now, which was time he hadn't spent with her, and probably should have even though Eggsy's company was really all Daisy seemed to want or need.

"Enter."

Harry had expected Eggsy to enter, and so it was a surprise when the door opened a little, and then Daisy was very nervously sliding through the gap, Mr. Fox clutched tightly in front of her, both arms wrapped around him for support. Harry assumed Eggsy was remaining hidden behind the door judging by the way Daisy was behaving, but after a few moments the girl very hesitantly moved a little closer before stating the reason for the interruption.

"Supper ready in five minutes." Daisy informed him, her whole body tense and wary, ready to run back to her brother at the slightest hint of aggression from him.

Keeping his hatred for the girl's father well hidden behind a placid smile, Harry thanked her for coming to tell him, and asked her to tell Eggsy that he'd be right down.

Nodding her head Daisy spun around and ran for the door, the murmur of voices he heard once she was out of sight the girl relaying his message, Harry assumed.

Turning his attention back to his work, Harry quickly shut down his laptop and secured the paperwork he'd been reviewing in his desk before pushing back his chair with a smile, happy for the excuse not to work for the next little bit.

Making a pit stop to wash his hands, Harry then followed his nose downstairs to the dining room where Daisy was already secured in her chair upon a chair so that she was at a normal level with the table, food cut up and ready on her plate for her. Mr. Fox sat on the chair beside her, just visible from Harry's point of view as he walked around them to take his place at the head of the table, Eggsy's spot between him and Daisy since the boy needed to be on hand to help the girl eat if necessary.

Eggsy had risen to his feet when Harry had entered, and Harry motioned him back into his spot before taking his own seat while telling the boy that everything looked delicious. And it did, with perhaps the exception of the clear bowl filled with some concoction that was very pink. With mini marshmallows on top.

Perhaps aware of what Harry was thinking, Eggsy smirked at him before they started passing the various dishes to each other to load up their plates with some of everything while Daisy watched her own plate like a hawk, all her concentration focused on not eating any of it until she was allowed, which for a three year old was quite the strain.

Once served, including a small amount of the pink stuff on his plate as manners dictated, Harry said a brief thanks for the meal since none of them were religious, and then invited everyone to eat, which had Daisy grinning and then attacking her large pile of pink stuff with her spoon like she was starved.

"She loves that stuff almost as much as ketchup." Eggsy confined in him, though there was a hint of worry in his eyes that Harry might comment on Daisy's lack of table manners.

Which weren't the best, but then Harry also supposed that if one wasn't used to good or regular food one would be rather hasty in consuming said food when it was available. And it was something they could work on in the future, so he didn't comment, choosing instead to ask what other foods she really liked.

"That stuff, ketchup, and mashed potatoes are the three main ones that have her doin a 'Frozen'."

"A 'Frozen'?"

"It's a Disney movie. Daisy loves it." Eggsy explained, the girl perking up at the mention of the movie in question, before going back to her food once she heard the rest. "There's this scene where the sisters, they smell chocolate and just sigh and go all dreamy over it. That's what Daisy does."

"Ah, yes. I suppose I should get used to watching such movies. It will be interesting to see how the animation has changed since my day." Harry couldn't honestly remember the last time he'd watched a Disney movie, but he didn't suppose it would be too much of a hardship unless one of the princesses had a high pitched voice like the voice actress from 'Snow White'. He'd hated it as a boy.

"Yeah, them animators were drawin on cave walls back in your day, weren't they?"

Raising an eyebrow over the wide, impish grin on Eggsy's face, Harry smirked right back. "Ah, yes, back in the days when one had enough brainpower to write whole sentences instead of resorting to ludicrous short forms when attempting to communicate."

"LOL." Was the boy's saucy reply.

"And then there's your generation's obsession with recording every moment of your existence on some form of social media. Now that is laughable, especially since all it does is reinforce the fact that you have nothing better to do with yourselves than waste hours online."

"Too right." Eggsy actually toasted him in agreement. "It's barmy, really, how obsessed some prats are with those things. I've had girls damn near ta skin me alive cause they saw a picture of me with some other bird on one of those things, or I didn't update my status ta 'in a relationship' fast enough for em. Bugger the lot of it, I say."

"Agreed, though please watch your language in front of the child."

A blink of surprise, Eggsy's voice dry as he informed Harry that she'd heard plenty worse already.

"Regardless, she's young enough to forget most of that if she doesn't hear it in this house. Which she won't."

"Want me to talk all proper in front of her as well?" Eggsy asked, not sounding offended at the idea, just curious.

"I don't expect you to change the way you speak unless you want to, Eggsy. But I will encourage her, as will her future teachers, to use proper English."

"And what makes your way the proper one, exactly?"

"Henry Higgins." Was Harry's dry response.

A delighted laugh, and then Eggsy asked if he wanted Harry to fetch his slippers for him after dinner.