Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way of it.
Lullabies and Kisses
Keeping to the opposite side of the staircase, he didn't want to impede her as Daisy bottom bumped her way down, Harry walked down the stairs and then went about turning on a side lamp to make things a little less scary for her. He of course knew every inch of his home and had good night vision, but to a small child still getting used to calling the house home Harry thought it best to banish as many shadows as possible. Not to mention the fact that he was absolutely certain that if she freaked out over some perceived threat or imagined horror he'd be at a complete loss as to what to do. Hold her most likely, but if that wasn't enough for her he'd be fucked. And have to break down and call Eggsy for help.
At least reached the bottom of the stairs without issue, and once she was back on her feet again Daisy walked over and retook his hand like it was the next logical step in this. Which made Harry feel happier than it should have, knowing that she'd let go before simply because she couldn't very well hold his hand and go down the stairs her way at the same time. Not unless he'd been willing to go down on his arse too.
And wouldn't that be a sight, Harry mused as they walked down the hallway and into the kitchen, the light from the windows over the sink providing more than enough light to guide their way.
Heading straight for the microwave Harry opened up the door and then asked Daisy to give him Mr. Fox so that he could put him in it.
"Me do it."
"All right." Letting go of her hand Harry got behind her and then gently placed his hands on her hips and lifted her up so that she could lovingly place her stuffie inside the microwave. And without hesitation she closed the door behind him, punched in the correct time for it, and then hit start. Eggsy had her well trained, it seemed.
Setting her back on her feet Harry left her to supervise the microwave while he walked over to the fridge to open and study its contents. There was so much to see now that someone actually cooked on a regular basis. But Eggsy seemed to have a system in place, and the majority of the drinks were all on one shelf for his perusal.
"Do you want water, milk or orange juice?" There was also a jug of what looked like red Kool Aid to Harry's discerning eye, but even he knew better than to give a child something with that much sugar in it this late at night. He wanted her to go to sleep as soon as possible after all.
"Juice."
"Excellent choice." Pulling it out Harry closed the fridge door and then walked over to the cupboard that housed the drinking glasses. Which was also a great deal fuller and more colorful since Daisy and Eggsy had moved in.
Pulling out a glass for himself, followed by one of Daisy's cups with a lid, Harry poured juice into both and then made sure the top of Daisy's cup would not be coming off without some muscle behind it. He did not want to have to deal with another bath time because she'd gotten juice all over herself. His nerves were not up to that yet.
Sure it was on Harry handed his ward her cup as he walked past her to put away the juice.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Once the juice was safely stowed away Harry walked back to retrieve his own glass, his throat quite parched from all the stress he was experiencing. And wished it was whiskey or some other alcoholic beverage.
Sipping their juice in companionable silence until the microwave signaled that Mr. Fox was done, Harry drained the rest of his glass and set it in the sink before retrieving the warm stuffie from the appliance.
Common sense had him testing the heat emanating from the stuffed animal against the skin of his own wrist, just in case. It seemed all right though so he handed it over to Daisy, who immediately cuddled it against her side with one hand, her other still occupied with the juice.
Patiently waiting for her to finish Harry took the cup from her when she offered it and then set it on the counter to be dealt with later, suggesting then that they might head back upstairs. If that was all right with her.
A nod was her answer, her hand again slipping into his as they left the kitchen and headed down the hallway towards the stairs again.
Arriving at their destination Harry belatedly realized that he'd never seen her go up the stairs on her own before. Every time he recalled her doing so Eggsy had carried her up. Was he supposed to do that? Most likely. Though he should ask first. It seemed the polite thing to do.
"Daisy, would you like me to carry you up the stairs?"
"Yes." And she held her arms up to him for emphasis.
Well then. Picking her up as requested Harry held her against his chest, surprised when her arms came around to wrap around his neck. He'd been about to switch her over to his hip…but this was fine too. Probably.
Taking the stairs a great deal slower than he would normally, one could not be too careful when holding someone so small and breakable, Harry didn't feel a shred of embarrassment over his sigh of relief when they safely made it to the top of the stairs without incident. Success.
Seeing no reason to put her down before he'd delivered her to her bed Harry kept Daisy in his arms as he walked down the hallway to her bedroom. She'd left her door open so it was easy enough to slip through without having to shift her around in his arms.
Eggsy had bought her a spinning lamp that projected stars and the moon onto her walls, and it was on to provide light along with her flower shaped nightlight. Plenty of light for the both of them, Harry thought as he walked over to the bed and leaned down to deposit her on her bedding.
Apparently fine with the idea of going back to bed Daisy pushed her covers out of her way so that she could get under them. Harry helped her get them back into place, and then was at a complete loss as to what he was supposed to do. Did he just…go? That didn't seem right or polite to him.
Looking around for something to adjust or some signal from her that she expected something from him, Harry found himself so desperate that he pointed to the large brown bear on her bed and asked what its name was.
"He don't got none."
"No name? Well that's unfortunate. Not that I'm an expert when it comes to naming teddy bears. I'm actually rather horrible at it, really, seeing as I named my own teddy bear Toto when I was a lad. You're too young to get that reference. And really the only other names that come to mind for a bear are Teddy, Winnie the Pooh, and Mr. Hug A Bug Bear."
"Mr. Hug A Bug?"
"Ah, yes. It's from a rather enjoyable film from the early nineties. I would recommend it when you're older. Robert Downey Jr was in it. Anyway, in it there was a song about Mr. Hug A Bug Bear that was rather catchy and adorable. Or at least I thought so at the time."
"I wanna hear the Mr. Hug A Bug song!"
Oh shit. And worse, he'd brought this entirely on himself.
And she was looking at him and he didn't want to disappoint her and…well at least no one else was around to hear him sing. Plus once she heard how horrible he was she'd surely never ask him to sing again, which was good.
Clearing his throat Harry prayed he wouldn't offend the ears too much as he sang the simple song.
"Mr. Hug-A-Bug, Hug-A-Bug, Hug-A-Bug Bear. When you try and find him, well, he won't be there. But when you're feeling blue and a little bit scared, he'll be right beside you, Mr. Hug-A-Bug Bear."
Daisy stared at him and then broke out into a wide grin as she wiggled with delight under her covers. "Again. Again."
Well that was certainly not the reaction his singing usually garnered.
Taking a seat on the bed Harry got comfortable and then sang 'Mr. Hug A Bug' until she passed out.
)
Keeping her door open a little, just in case, Harry headed back to his study to retrieve the baby monitor before going back downstairs. His throat was dry and he wanted ice cold water to soothe it. He also wanted to watch 'Heart and Souls' now that it was on his mind. It had been forever since he'd last watched it. But he was not watching it tonight, Harry told himself sternly as he poured himself a glass of water from the fridge. Tomorrow night, perhaps, if he didn't have too much paperwork to get done. It wasn't likely Eggsy thing, but perhaps the boy would surprise him.
Drinking down the water and pouring himself another, Harry drained that as well before putting the water pitcher back in the fridge, his glass in the sink.
Muffling a yawn with his hand Harry glanced in the direction of the microwave where the time glowed mockingly. Where the hell was Eggsy?
He'd go upstairs, retrieve his cellphone, and call Eggsy. He should have been home by now.
He was done waiting for Eggsy to come home.
Marching out of the kitchen Harry started making mental plans about what he'd do if Eggsy didn't pick up when he called him. Namely that he'd have Merlin trace the boy's phone to ascertain his whereabouts that way. Then based on the other man's findings he'd-nevermind. Somehow he'd missed the sound of the front door being opened.
"You're home."
Eggsy actually jumped a little before whirling around, his jacket in hand. "Cripes. Harry. What ya doin still up?"
Harry shook his head. "Eggsy…I was not going to go to bed until I knew for sure you'd gotten home safely."
"You-you was waitin up for me? Seriously?" Eggsy's face was bathed in shadows so Harry couldn't get a good sense of the boy's expression. But his tone suggested he was rather stunned by that.
"Of course. I know you stated that you were perfectly capable of handling yourself, Eggsy, but the fact remained that you were going somewhere at night that isn't generally considered safe by most people. And better that I know something's wrong and get you help when it benefits you rather than it be morning when I discover you never came home or came home injured."
"Oh."
"You are fine, yes?"
"Ah, yeah. Would have been back sooner, but I ran into Poodle at the Prince."
"Poodle? I'm assuming you aren't referring to a canine?"
"Nah. Dogs are smarter than im. He used ta be one of Dean's lot. Figured that since I ain't broke now I should pay im what Dean owed him when the fucker croaked. He backed off pretty quick though, once he realized I wasn't just gonna hand it over. He ain't crap in a fight, but he ain't got the bollocks ta take me on alone and the rest of em weren't there."
"I see. Do you anticipate any of Dean's former associates making trouble for you in the future?"
"Rottie's probably the only one that I'd really worry about, if I was still livin there. But I ain't plannin ta visit that neck of the woods less it's ta see Ryan or Jamal in the future."
It was tempting to ban Eggsy from going back to the estates, but since he was intelligent enough to know that that was a stupid idea Harry settled for reminding the boy that he was allowed to have his friends over to the house as well.
"I know. I told Ry he could start payin me back by getting off his arse about Daisy's room."
"I see. And that reminds me." Harry held out the monitor to Eggsy. "She was up a short while ago but I got her a drink and put her back to bed. She was sleeping soundly when I came down here for a drink."
Eggsy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah? Sorry bout that."
"Haaaapp-," A yawn cut him off. "My apologies. Happy to do it."
"Sounds like we both need to get to bed." There was laughter in Eggsy's voice now. "Come on. Let's go. Any requests for breakfast tomorrow?"
"Well…."
)
It was a good thing that he'd slept in the day before. And that he was military trained to soldier on even when he was somewhat sleep deprived. And the scent of bacon waffling out from the kitchen helped too, Harry silently acknowledged as he muffled another yawn before stepping into the dining room for breakfast the next morning. Daisy was already in her seat as per usual and waved at him. He waved back automatically, more focused on waking up than the usual morning pleasantries.
And all right, on the food that was currently dished out on the table, waiting for him to stuff himself with.
"Morning, Harry."
"Good morning, Eggsy. Daisy." Harry belatedly tacked on.
Eggsy's smirk spoke volumes, as did the fact that Eggsy moved over to pull his chair out for him.
"Thank you." Walking over to take said seat Harry paused, something about the boy's face triggering something in his mind that commanded he wake the fuck up and pay closer attention to him.
Narrowing his eyes as he sat down, Harry watched as Eggsy not so subtly ducked his head a little and stated he'd be right back before beating a hasty retreat towards the kitchen.
Like that was going to work seeing as Eggsy had to come back in, Harry thought with a shake of his head. His brain wasn't the only one not working at peak efficiency it seemed.
Glancing over in Daisy's direction to see what she made of her brother's poor avoidance attempt Harry raised an eyebrow when he saw that a new stuffed animal was now joining them at the table for meals. The unnamed teddy bear from the night before was now sitting in the chair beside Mr. Fox.
"I see Mr. Fox has a new friend."
Daisy nodded.
"Apparently Mr. Hug A Bug had to join us for breakfast too." Eggsy informed him as he came back into the room with Daisy's breakfast, not looking at him as he walked over to deliver the food.
"Ah. I see." Well at least the bear had a name now.
Setting the pre prepared plate in front of his sister Eggsy glanced over at him with a definite smirk on his face. A smirk that dropped off his face the exact moment Eggsy remembered that he was trying to hide or downplay something. But it was too late for Eggsy to duck his head again because Harry saw what it was the boy hadn't wanted him to notice or perhaps draw Daisy's attention to.
Keeping his angry and violent thoughts off his face Harry very subtly tapped two fingers to his cheek. A spot where on Eggsy's face there was a hint of discoloration. A light bruising, perhaps. Or the boy was simply skilled at hiding such things with cosmetics at this point and hadn't quite succeeded in hiding it all.
The grimace that crossed Eggsy's face made it clear that he'd understood. "It ain't nothin, Harry. Honest. I don't even feel it none. I didn't even think the P-U-N-C-H did damage last night. Barely skimmed me."
Since there was a chance Daisy would recognize the 'unique' name of one of her father's lackeys Harry spelled out 'Poodle' to confirm the identity of Eggsy's attacker.
Eggsy nodded.
"Real name and address?"
"Shit, Harry. Ya gonna ask for his social insurance number too?"
"It would be convenient if you know it."
"Jesus. It's like that scene from 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'."
Getting the reference Harry pointed out that this was rather different unless Eggsy had once been romantically involved with this individual.
"Sooner shove my you know what in a paper shredder."
"Ah." Well that was certainly a visual he'd never entertained before. And could have gone without imagining for that matter.
"Uncle Harry."
Allowing Daisy to distract him for a moment, though he had every intention of insuring this Poodle person was never a problem again, Harry turned his attention to the little girl. "Yes, Daisy?"
"You gots ta kiss Eggsy."
At his side Eggsy choked on his orange juice while Harry sent up silent thanks that he hadn't been chewing or eating anything when she made that little declaration. Choking to death in front of the child would have traumatized her horribly, especially since Eggsy was in no shape to try and save him. As it was he was stunned speechless by her request.
"Daisy, what the heck?"
"You gots a booboo. Uncle Harry's got ta kiss it better."
Face red, Eggsy stuttered out that Daisy had already kissed it for him. And it was all better now, really.
"I sees it." Was Daisy's very matter-of-fact response, the little girl pointing at her brother's cheek for emphasis. "Uncle Harry's gotta kiss it cause he's magic. He'll make it all better."
"Ah, I'm sorry, Daisy. My magic doesn't quite work that way." Yes, he could talk again.
"Peas." Daisy gave him a big eyed look.
"He can't, Daisy. Cause his lips are all slick with syrup. That'd get in the way."
"Oh. Ogay."
Harry shot Eggsy a look that he hoped conveyed just how brilliant a save he thought that was. Absolutely brilliant.
Now if only he didn't have the sinking feeling in his gut that Daisy was not going to forget about this and demand that she give Eggsy's cheek a kiss after breakfast was done.
