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

This chapter is dedicated to kunf'you'z-ed who put the idea of Harry and Eggsy's goodbye in my head. I was going to skip over it or just give it a quick mention, but your review gave me ideas. So thanks for that lol. Also I'll be on vacation for a bit, but I promise more updating than I've been doing in July.

I'll See You Soon

Harry had thought that his goodbye with Daisy would be the hardest part of his departure this morning. And not to devalue how difficult that had been, because that had been truly wretched, but this was worse. So much worse. And he didn't know how to make it better as he and Eggsy drove in absolute silence to Kingsman, Eggsy behind the wheel while Harry was left to sit and do his best not to betray how flustered and agitated he was feeling. Feelings Harry was pretty sure were being exasperated by Eggsy's own, bottled up emotions. Emotions that weren't showing on the boy's face at all, which was not helping. Eggsy had one of the most expressive faces Harry had ever come across, and to see him all stone faced and quiet was just unnatural. And why was he stone faced and quiet?

Unlike Daisy Eggsy was certainly old enough to understand that Harry would only be gone for a couple of days and that the odds of something bad happening were slim at best. All right, the odds of violence often went up when you added both Addison and Americans to the mix, but this was supposed to be a business meeting. And he'd told Eggsy this was just a simple meeting and had done his level best to make it sound as mundane and boring as possible. Which it would be. Should be. Dear God let it be. He did not want to come back from America shot again. Not that getting shot anywhere was a good idea. And there were certainly worse places to get shot too. But if he came home injured Eggsy and Daisy would-

"Are you worried about what would happen to you and Daisy if something were to happen to me while I'm away? I've made sure that you would both be well taken care of-though that's not something you need to worry about. I really will be fine."

Eggsy glanced in his direction for a moment before turning his attention back to looking straight ahead. "That ain't what I'm worried about. Or not just that."

"Then...?"

"Don't worry about it none. I know you'll be fine."

Harry thought about pointing out that that wasn't an answer, but of course they were pulling into Kingsman's car park now and he really didn't want them to part on bad terms. Though were bad terms worse than uncertain terms? It was hard to say, really.

Either way he was still mulling the question over as Eggsy parked the car in his designated spot.

Then of course the car was shut off, belts were unbuckled-which sounded rather naughty in his head-and then they were exiting the vehicle with Eggsy opening up the back passenger door to retrieve his suit bags for him while Harry grabbed his carry-on and laptop case from the car's boot.

Closing the boot Harry turned to see Eggsy watching him with the suits draped over one arm and a cloth bag in the other. Watching and perhaps waiting for...something?

Bugger it.

Turning Harry put his laptop case on the boot, set his carry-on on the ground, and then asked for the suits and the mystery bag, which he placed on top of the car's trunk as well. Then he turned back to give a puzzled looking Eggsy his full attention.

"I've never really done this before. The whole...saying good bye to family before a trip thing. I mean I have Mother but it's not-we don't really-I don't think it's the same. Or at least it feels like I'm missing something here. It feels like I'm supposed to be saying or doing something only for the life of me I don't know what that is. Do you?"

Eggsy stared at him for a moment.

"Fuck it."

And so saying Eggsy lurched forward and Harry found himself caught up in a hug, Eggsy's arms holding on so tight Harry would have worried about bruising if Eggsy hadn't been clutching him so desperately. And it was impossible to think about anything aside from the feel of Eggsy pressed against him, the scents he associated with the other man and home, and the fact that Eggsy was telling him without words what he needed.

Wrapping his arms around Eggsy in turn Harry held on and relaxed for the first time that morning.

"Ya know it ain't about me keepin Dais or the money. Not really." Eggsy murmured after a minute or so. "Your family now, ya know?"

"Thank you." Harry's lips curved into a smile Eggsy couldn't see. "And I hope you know I'll miss you for reasons that have nothing to do with your food. Though I will miss that quite a lot."

Eggsy's frame shook with silent laughter. "Fair enough. And aside from Merlin's lunch there's some snacks and such for you and Addison in that other bag. Just in case ya get hungry on the way there."

"Thank you, Eggsy."

"Anytime." Eggsy assured him as he pulled away, Harry finding himself reluctantly letting him go. "So let's get you inside and squared away, then. Sooner you leave the sooner you'll be home again."

"Exactly."

)

Harry agreed that stereotyping people based on their country of origin was the height of ignorance. Every individual was unique and deserved to be judged based entirely on their own personalities and choices rather than the history of their country or the stereotypes assigned to them by the rest of the often overly judgemental world. But really...Americans. They made trying to be impartial and openminded so bloody difficult even at the best of times. It was like they relished making a bad first, second, and third impression.

Logically Harry knew that he had his predecessor and Chester King's many character flaws to thank for the way the Statesmen were treating him now. Champ and King had pretty much hated each other on sight to the point where the two men had had as little to do with each other as possible. There had been a definite breakdown in shared intelligence and resources between their two organizations over the years and Harry was more than willing to lay the majority of the blame for that on King's door. He enjoyed blackening the former head of Kingsman's name.

However that's didn't make him guilty and culpable by association.

He'd been nothing but polite and courteous since the meeting had started, all the while keeping Addison in line to the best of his ability, but as the minutes ticked by Harry gave serious thought to pulling out his gun and putting some holes in the ceiling at the very least. That ought to at least shut them all up long enough for him to explain why it was he'd specifically requested that they take a break at one thirty.

All right, no. He didn't want to shoot the ceiling. He wanted to shoot Whiskey. Again.

Which was another reason the Americans weren't inclined to like him very much. But as Harry had explained numerous times both now and before, he couldn't be blamed for not realizing that the man was a Statesman working undercover to infiltrate a drug cartel at the time. It's not like the American agent had done or said anything to alert him to his status as a double agent. So really the whole misunderstanding had been Whiskey's fault in the long run. And thinking him a member of that organization...well really it was entirely understandable that Harry had shot the man before. In the head. Which he'd survived, obviously, so really holding a grudge about it was juvenile to say the least.

Feeling Ginger's sympathetic eyes on him yet again Harry could only imagine wistfully how much better this would all be if the lone female in the room was in charge. He didn't know Ginger that well but Merlin spoke very highly of her and thus far she'd struck him as an intelligent, reasonable, and calm person.

Champ, Tequila, Whiskey, and Moonshine had yet to display any of those desirable qualities.

Wincing at the suggestions of gross bodily harm Addison and Whiskey were threatening each other with, you'd think they were in an American bar, not a business meeting, Harry decided that enough was enough. Something had to be done before the two used the weapons they were pointing at each other. Or he'd kill them both just to shut them up. And when a glance in Champ's direction confirmed that the man was still enjoying his role of spectator to this example of testosterone poisoning Harry looked in the direction of the only other sane, rational person in the room. Then pulling out his data pad sent Ginger a message with instructions on how they might go about ending this cock fight. At least temporarily.

Message sent and then received Harry watched as Ginger read the message, sent him a puzzled look, but then nodded as she hopefully turned her attention to turning on the large flat screen situated at the end of the table where she'd been hovering anxiously.

It seemed she was with him as the screen came to life and then mirrored what Ginger was doing on her tablet to connect to the secure line Merlin had set up so that Harry could speak to Daisy each night before she went to sleep. Even if a Statesman, including Ginger, tried to track this connection back to Harry's home they'd be out of luck. Or so Merlin had assured him.

And speak of the man himself-why was he sitting on Eggsy's bed?

Merlin was in the background, his back against Eggsy's headboard and Daisy in his lap. Harry's ward was dressed in her favored panda bear pajamas and was staring at them from the screen like she didn't know what to do.

Then she shrieked her brother's name loud enough that everyone shut up while wincing at the high pitch of it.

"Wot? Wot is it?" Eggsy's worried voice came from somewhere off screen.

"The Cat-a-pillar Man! He's bein mean ta Mr. Addy-son!"

Eggsy's scowling, upside down face came into view as he looked at the screen from above, becoming a blur of movement before coming around to stand beside the bed, bent over so that he could see the others while not blocking Daisy's view. "Who?"

"The Cat-a-pillar Man." Daisy repeated, putting her pointer finger under her nose lengthwise.

Oh. Whiskey's mustache.

Around him Harry could hear bitten off laughter and some snickering that turned into outright laughter at Eggsy's next question.

"Ya mean the bloke with the skippin rope?"

"It's not a skipping rope. It's a lasso." Whiskey told him dumbly, staring at the screen like he couldn't quite wrap his head around what he was seeing.

"Sure it is, Bruv. Keep tellin yourself that. Though if ya don't want ta end up danglin from the end of it you'll mind your manners when it comes to Harry and Addison. Ya get me?"

Aside from his accent and questionable fashion choices Eggsy rarely demonstrated characteristics one expected from a chav from the council estates. Most of the time Harry forgot about Eggsy's juvenile record and what he'd been charged and accused of before he'd straightened up to become a Marine. But looking at Eggsy now, the boy very convincingly projecting promises of extreme maiming or death if Whiskey hurt a hair on his or Addison's head...Harry could see it. Could see the cold blooded, very much capable of shedding blood side of Eggsy.

He really shouldn't find threatening, dangerous Eggsy quite so attractive.

"Now, Boy, you don't-"

"Naw, Caterpillar Man. It's you who don't want ta upset my sister and get on our bad sides. So sit your arse down and shut it so my sister can say good night ta Harry."

So very, very attractive.

"Sit yourself down, Whiskey. You're upsetting the little lady and things are getting interesting here. Did I hear her call you Eggsy, young man?" Champ drawled out, amusement all but dancing in the older man's eyes when Harry glanced in his direction.

"Eggsy, Daisy, allow me to make the introductions." Merlin's face didn't betray his thoughts in the slightest, but Harry could easily imagine how entertaining he was finding this. "The gentleman who asked your name is Champ. He's in charge of the reprobates you see around the table. Reprobates, this is Eggsy Unwin and our leader's ward, Daisy. The lovely lady in the room is Ginger by the way, and deserves to receive flowers every day for putting up with the lot of them." A nasty little smile. "And the man you don't like is named Whiskey. Though I think I prefer Caterpillar Man."

"I do too." Addison agreed nastily.

"I third it, which makes it final, right?" Tequila was all bright-eyed innocence in the face of Whiskey's death glare.

"Boy, you do like living dangerously." Champ shook his head at Tequila before turning his attention back to the screen. "It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."

Eggsy inclined his head while Daisy watched them warily from the safety of Merlin's lap, her face now half pressed against his shirt while one of Merlin's arms came up to hold her there.

Now that the three loudest troublemakers in the room were momentarily quiet Harry saw his chance to speak up. "This is the first time I've been away from home since Eggsy and Daisy came to live with me. Which is why I asked that we have a short break at this time as it's Daisy's bedtime and I promised to speak to her before she went to sleep."

"Already?" Moonshine's face scrunched up in confusion. "It ain't that late over there."

"Daisy's only three." Harry informed him. "And I'll have Ginger transfer the connection back to me and finish this call outside the room now. Unless you have any objections?"

With Daisy watching them from the screen Harry very much doubted it. The adorableness was strong in his ward, even before you added Eggsy to the mix.

"Now there's no need for that." Champ assured him. "You can just talk to her in here."

Looking back and forth between him and Champ Harry could all but see the wheels turning in Eggsy's head.

"How about Daisy just ask Harry her question and then we can all say good night?"

"You have a question, Daisy?"

Daisy nodded. Then gave Eggsy a pointed look before burying her face against Merlin's chest.

"Right. Guess I'm askin then." Eggsy stated after his hushed attempts to get Daisy to speak failed. "So we dropped in on the shop after daycare and ran into Rox and got ta talkin. She was bitchin some bout this charity event at the thing we're goin ta, where the birds bring picnic baskets and blokes bid on them. Her mum's makin her do it."

"Ah yes, they're still doing that?" Harry grimaced in remembrance. He'd never willingly participated in the event but one year his mother and aunt had forced him to bid on his cousin's basket when no one else did. A then sixteen year old Penelope had suffered a bad breakup recently and her binge eating of ice-cream and greasy foods had caused her to break out rather badly on top of her frame not exactly needing those extra pounds in the first place. And of course his cousin had been justifiably mortified to have her younger cousin as her only bidder...it had not been a good day.

"Parently. Anyway she was sayin how all the money raised goes ta some kid's foundation, and Daisy heard her so now she wants ta make a basket too so she can help other sprogs. That all right? I figured I should clear it with ya before ringing up your aunt ta ask her bout it."

"Ah, I see. That's very commendable of you, Daisy. Wanting to help other children. I'm very proud of you."

His words caused Daisy to finally turn her head enough that she could look at Harry just long enough to give a pleased smile before she went back to hiding against Merlin's chest.

"You have my permission of course. Do you want me to call my aunt about it for you?" Spare him, in other words.

"Nah, it's all right. Less expensive for me ta do it, and it will give me a chance ta ask her just what people all put in these things. I was just gonna make us sandwiches and such, but I'm guessing this will call for some fancier stuff."

Harry's assurance that whatever Eggsy made was fine was entirely drowned out by Tequila, who stated very loudly that Eggsy had to make fried chicken. A picnic was not a picnic unless it had fried chicken. It was practically gospel.

"Fried chicken." Merlin sighed, the greed and food lust all but dripping off of every syllable.

"Ya just ate your weight in lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. And that's not even factoring in dessert." Eggsy twisted around to look in Merlin's direction. "I'm the one's that supposed ta be a bottomless pit."

"Ah, a little fried chicken never hurt no one. Specially since you Brits probably can't make it right ta save your lives. You guys like your stuff bland, right?"

Swinging back to face the screen at a speed that threatened to give Eggsy whiplash, Eggsy glared at Tequila. "My food is not bland. And if I made fried chicken ya can bet it would be just as good as anythin you lot got over there."

"Ain't no one's chicken better than my Meemaw's."

Eggsy's brows furrowed in confusion. "What's a meemaw?"

"My grandma."

"Oh."

"But I'll tell you what, I'll give your old man here the recipe and he can pass it along. It won't be half as good, of course, but that's still ten times better than any you've ever had."

Eggsy crossed his arms definitively. "I'm part house elf, Bruv. My chicken will be even better."

"Southern fried chicken made by a house elf." Merlin gushed like a man in love.

Harry just shook his head.

This was not going to end well.