Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original ideas and characters. Thank for reading and please review so I know what you think. I love you hear from you guys and feedback and ideas are always appreciated. Sorry that this chapter got a little off course too lol.

Reasons to Celebrate

Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of all the stuff in boxes and cloth bags that Eggsy insisted had to come with them to the shop, this was just going to be a small party after all, but he didn't argue their necessity either. Mostly because when he brought it up as they were loading up the boot of the car Eggsy had given him a look that had told Harry to hush on the subject. And his mother, or to be accurate his caregivers throughout his childhood hadn't raised him to be a fool. So wisely Harry went mum on the subject and turned his attention to doing what Eggsy told him to do before getting behind the wheel to drive them to Kingsman.

Daisy looked extra sweet and adorable in her sunny yellow dress and pigtails, but she certainly didn't give the appearance of being in a partying mood on the drive to the shop. She wasn't crying or even frowning, which relieved him, but she seemed lost in her thoughts. Hardly even aware of them it seemed, though Harry caught her watching him a time or two in the time it took to reach their destination.

Eggsy, of course, could be counted upon to fill the silence.

"So you certainly charmed the socks of Emily. She's probably back at the shop writing your name in hearts and sighing dreamily into space."

"The fact that she's such a devoted Colin Firth fan helped." Harry pointed out dryly.

"The fact that you're way sexi-better lookin than Firth helped, ya mean."

Oh. Well.

"I mean he's cute I suppose. Like a teddy bear. Only not cause he's on the lean side. Huh." Eggsy frowned as he mulled it over, the way he was chewing on his bottom lip not helping Harry's ability to concentrate on the road at all. "He just always seems as harmless as a teddy bear. And as nice ta cuddle with. But he ain't the sort who comes ta mind when ya think of sexy British actors, right?"

"Fans of him as Mr. Darcy in 'Pride and Prejudice' would probably argue with you there."

Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Eggsy shrug his shoulders at that as the boy stated that he'd never seen it. Which wasn't surprising since it had been-dear God, had that really come out in the mid nineties? God but that made him feel old. And it was definitely time to change the subject before he started actively encouraging Eggsy to stroke his ego some more.

"Well if you ever want to see a well done adaptation of that particular novel I recommend it."

"Not really an Austen fan, Harry. I fuc-friggin HATE 'Emma' with a passion. We had ta read that shite in school and seriously-ugh."

Harry had to work hard not to laugh at that. "I would agree that the only good thing to result from that book is 'Clueless'."

Eggsy blank look made Harry sigh. And state that they'd watch it sometime as it really was an excellent and original adaptation. Even if the fashion did tend to make him cringe.

"That bad, huh?"

He shuddered just thinking about it. "Let's just say that I'm very grateful that it's no longer considered the height of fashion for young men to wear trousers far too big for them so that they hang down to reveal one's pants."

"Makes my chav look look pretty stylish in comparison, huh?"

Harry bit down on his bottom lip for a moment before diplomatically stating that the chav look was an acquired taste at times. Though yes, he did appreciate the fact that Eggsy's clothes generally fit his body.

And shit. That hadn't come out right. Well it had, but-shit.

Not perturbed in the least Eggsy laughed and grinned at him.

"Your generations shouldn't be so hard on my look, ya know. I mean seriously, I've seen pics of what you lot wore in your teens and twenties and hell, this is a million times better than the shit from the eighties. Not ta mention the hair. How did yous wear ya hair back then, anyway? Ya didn't have a mullet, did ya?" Eggsy's whole face scrunched up in horror at the idea. "Fuck, especially with the curl ta your hair..."

"No swearing around Daisy and no, I never had the bad taste to wear a mullet. Not even Mel Gibson could pull that look off. My hair was a tad...ruffled during that period, but I assure you I stayed far away from the more...popular hairstyles of my generation."

The narrow eyed look Eggsy gave him seemed to call his honesty on the matter into question.

"I'll show you pictures this evening if you like."

"Yeah?" Eggsy beamed at the idea. "It's a date, then."

Reflectively looking in Eggsy direction, Harry immediately turned his attention back to the road to hide his reaction.

"You really got the short straw when it came ta fashion, didn't ya?" Eggsy stated, apparently not sensing anything out of the ordinary. "I mean it pretty much sucked royally when you was my age and right up until my generation. I mean at least my clothes fit me well enough like ya said. What was with the eighties and bloody shoulder pads? I've seen pics of me mum from back then and seriously, Bruv, ain't no one pullin that look off."

"A great deal of eighties fashion doesn't make sense in retrospect."

"No shi-sugar." Eggsy caught himself just in time.

Chuckling, Harry enjoyed discussing fashion mistakes of previous decades for the rest of the car ride.

)

Once they arrived at the shop a still quiet Daisy was put in charge of carrying first Mr. Fox and then her giant card for Addison inside while Thomas held the door open for them. The rest of the paraphernalia fell on his and Eggsy's shoulders to transport through the shop and up the stairs to the meeting room they were using for the party. It took a couple trips even with Thomas's help, and after everything was on the table Eggsy shooed them out and told them to come back ten minutes before the scheduled party. He didn't want them getting in his way or sneaking food.

Rather than argue Harry followed Thomas back down the stairs to take a look at some new ties that had just come in from a new supplier.

"Ah, Sir…Balloons…?"

"Eggsy assures me he won't be upset if Addison starts using them as target practice. So long as one is spared for Daisy to take home."

The look on Thomas's face suggested that the older man was now even more concerned, which made sense depending on Addison's weapon of choice if given free rein to attack the inanimate objects. Harry felt obligated to give the man's shoulder a squeeze as he stated that he was sorry that Eggsy couldn't be talked out of the balloons.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Thomas assured him. Weakly.

"His birthday only comes once a year, thank the powers that be. And Daisy will be around to keep him at least somewhat in line. She intimidates him. Or at least unnerves him."

"Children, when one isn't used to them, tend to do so."

Harry couldn't have agreed with that statement more.

For both their sakes they dropped the topic of Addison and moved on to Harry asking questions about the ties as they made their way over to the display in question.

Happily the ties were as lovely as advertised at first glance. And when looked over closely too as Harry appreciated the excellent material and color choices. He was usually fairly traditional when it came to his color schemes but did enjoy experimenting occasionally when the product in question was first rate. He picked out his two favorites and asked Thomas to see to it that they were put on his account.

"Of course. Do you want me to bag them for you?"

"Thank you." Looking around the shop in general Harry asked if there was anything related to its upkeep or wares that he needed to be aware of. He did try to spend at least a little time each week in the shop but lately that hadn't happened and he felt a bit guilty now that he was thinking about it.

"Nothing of concern, Sir. Merlin did inform you that Mr. Lamont dropped by on Wednesday and asked about Eggsy?"

"Yes, he did. Has Lamont been back since?"

"No. And I made it clear that you would be made aware that he asked about Eggsy."

Ordinarily that should have been enough to ensure that the vampire stayed as far away from the topic of Eggsy as he could get. The vampire had lived long enough to know that individuals who crossed Harry Hart didn't tend to live long. Particularly when it came to threatening those under Harry's care. And he'd made it bloody clear that Eggsy was his, and yet…and yet Harry had the sinking feeling in his gut that he was actually going to have to maim, if not kill Lamont to keep the vampire from sniffing around Eggsy. Particularly if Lamont got wind of just why Eggsy's smell beguiled him so.

Thanks to Eggsy's research they now knew that Eric Lamont and his kind were pathologically attracted to Eggsy and other members of his family because of their house elf blood. Elvish blood was considered a rare vintage to be coveted by vampires normally, so that was bad enough, but house elf blood was in a whole other category entirely. It was said that vampires prized their blood above all others because their magic revolved around home and comfort. To vampires who lived for centuries and saw their world constantly changing with the old being replaced by new, whether that be scenery or the mortals briefly passing through their lives, a house elf's blood connected vampires to feelings of home and belonging. Of being loved and cared for.

Eggsy, soft hearted as he was, had asked Harry what he thought about him donating blood to vampires, which Harry had had to shoot down immediately. There were laws in place that protected pureblood house elves from being victimized by the vampire race but diluted as Eggsy's blood was the Fae wouldn't be in any hurry to protect him from harm. And if Eggsy advertised what he was the older vampires, the ones who had lost their humanity centuries ago and would think nothing of making him their blood slave, would also want to add Daisy to their collection.

He hadn't had to say any more on the matter.

And speaking of Daisy…he was hearing a familiar, Daisy related sound coming from the stairs.

Turning his head Harry saw that his ward was indeed doing her bottom bumping down said stairs.

"Excuse me a moment, Thomas."

Hurrying over, she was taking the stairs a tad quicker than he was comfortable with, Harry arrived just as she neared the bottom. And Eggsy was at the top of the stairs supervising his sister's descent, so at least she hadn't snuck off while her brother's back was turned. The questioning look Eggsy aimed in his direction seemed to ask if Harry was okay watching her, and Harry nodded even as he wondered if that was wise. Especially since Eggsy promptly turned on his heels and left without a backward glance.

But when Daisy reached the bottom and held her arms out to him it was now mostly natural to pick her up and settle her on his hip just as the shop opened and the sounds of new voices reached his ears.

Turning around Harry saw that Merlin, Kay, and the birthday boy himself had arrived. Addison looked even less cheerful than Daisy.

And it wasn't just his imagination that Daisy was more than a little on the melancholy side either, because as soon they met up with the other men in the middle of the shop Merlin plucked Daisy out of his arms and cuddling her against his chest asked her why she was so sad.

Daisy looked up at the Scot with a wide eyed waif look guaranteed to bring a man to his knees. "Unca Harry is goin ta America where the tan-ja-rine man wives. He's mean, and yells, and people's get shot all the time. I don't wan him ta go!"

"The tangerine man?" Kay repeated, obviously confused.

"Trump."

Harry snorted at Merlin's answer, though he could certainly see why some might give the current American president that nickname. But it was hard to be amused over that when Daisy looked so miserable, so Harry reached out to give one of her pigtails a teasing tug as he told her that nothing bad would happen to him while he was in the U.S.

"It is Kentucky though." Addison pointed out thoughtlessly. "Everyone owns a gun there."

The whimpering noise Daisy made had Addison actually shooting Merlin a panicky look before he recovered himself.

Merlin of course had no pity for Addison, giving him a killer glare before smiling down at Daisy encouragingly. "He'll be fine, My Girl. I promise."

"Your uncle might not be as proficient as I am with a gun, but he is most certainly capable of handling the Americans for a few days." Addison added on.

"Ignore him." Merlin told Daisy.

But Daisy wasn't looking at Merlin. "You's gots a gun, Mr. Addy-son?"

While everyone's lips twitched over her pronunciation of Addison's name the man in question informed her that he had one of the finest private collections of weapons in all of Europe.

The way Daisy's face lit up…that couldn't be good.

"Will you's go ta America with Unca Harry? Yous can shoots people if they's mean ta him! Peas, Mr. Addy-son? Peas?!"

"Now, Lass-" Merlin started to say, the look she aimed in his direction making whatever he'd been about to say die a quick death in his throat.

"I really don't require a bodyguard, Daisy. I'll be fine."

But Daisy has zero interest in either of them or their opinions at the moment. Daisy was leaning forward as much as she could and had now gotten ahold of the sleeve of Addison's suit jacket. She had it in a death grip, or the toddler version of that, and was giving Addison the look that had gotten her her way more than once when Harry had been 'in charge' of her care. Not caving under the force of that look-only Eggsy was immune to it to the best of Harry's knowledge.

Taking the coward's way out, not that Harry blamed him in the slightest, Addison gave the best excuse he had while looking pointedly down at his oxfords. "It's up to Merlin whether I can go or not."

The quick look Addison aimed in Merlin's direction made it clear that he felt absolutely no remorse for throwing the other man under the bus, so to speak.

Daisy looked up at Merlin. Merlin lasted maybe a second before crumbling like an ancient ruin.

"Of course he can go with Harry to America. That's a fine idea, Lass."

Throwing her hands up with a loud "Yay!" Daisy wiggled with happiness before turning in Merlin's arms to give him a loud, smacking kiss on the jaw, making Merlin blush while pointedly not meeting any of their gazes.

And then Daisy shocked everyone by motioning for Addison to come closer, and when he warily did so she dove forward again and gave ADDISON a smacking kiss on the cheek as well.

"Dear God. Please tell me someone was recording that."

Percival had arrived.

And fortunately for him Addison was under orders not to cause physical harm to someone while Daisy was present.

)

The rest of the party's guests arrived shortly thereafter and the question of why everyone but Daisy looked a little shell-shocked and the explanation that followed distracted them all enough that the whole lot of them ended up heading up the stairs to the meeting room together once Addison bad-temperedly reminded them that they should be doing so so that they could get all this over with. Because of course he was watching the clock on this.

Once they reached the top of the stairs Merlin had the thought to send Daisy in to make sure Eggsy was ready for them before they all just descended on the boy, which Harry appreciated. Especially since he had a feeling that for all his apparent coolness about this Eggsy was also more than a little nervous.

Thrilled to have been given a job Daisy ran off in her Daisy way down the hallway to complete it.

"Do all children run that way?" Percival wanted to know, his head cocked to the side in consideration.

"She has decent coordination given her age." Kay informed him in a knowledgeable tone of voice. "She'll better learn how to maximize her speed when she's older and has the stamina to really run."

"How long can a child that young run?" Terrance, one of the handlers, wanted to know.

"It depends on the sugar in their system and what's motivating them to run in the first place." Thomas answered with a knowing chuckle. "They're particularly speedy when at an amusement park or on Christmas morning."

Having opened the door and poked her head in to talk to Eggsy Daisy stuck her head back out to inform them that Eggsy was ready for them before heading inside without them.