Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing but the original characters and the situations the characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for continuing to read and giving me feedback on my work. It's muchly appreciated and I do read every review you send me!
Note: Big sorries for the lack of updates. Between work being less than kind AND breaking my wrist just before Christmas I haven't done much updating across the board. I'm hoping to do better in the future. Fingers crossed. Also sorry this one's a little shorter...I ran out of time.
Showing His Appreciation
This was most certainly not how Harry had thought things would go. Not remotely. When Eggsy had started speed walking them towards home, pulling him along with him through their joined hands, Harry had assumed that the other man was anxious to get Harry far away from his mother to prevent further harsh words from being spoken. Given that Eggsy had lost his mother less than a year ago, and was still mourning her passing, Harry had understood that. Eggsy had made it crystal clear that he wanted Harry to have a better relationship with his mother the night before, and while Harry couldn't give him that he wouldn't hold any future scolding or attempts to reconcile them in the future against his lover.
The latter definitely wouldn't happen any time soon of course, but Harry was prepared to be kinder about things once he'd calmed down a little more. Or at least be better prepared to be civil to her when Eggsy was around, Harry silently corrected in his head. Or when good manners absolutely required it.
What Harry had not foreseen or expected was Eggsy pushing him up against their front door as soon as they were safely inside their home and away from prying eyes. A move that was quickly followed by Eggsy pressing up against him so that Harry found himself sandwiched between the door and his suddenly very needy lover, being snogged like one of them had been away at war for five years and this was their reunion.
It was messy, uncoordinated, and fucking amazing.
And it only got better with Eggsy muttering things in between kisses and gropes that made Harry feel like he was everything Eggsy could ever want in a man. That in Eggsy's eyes he was the sexiest, most desirable and fittest man alive. Like he had driven Eggsy mad with want when he'd taken the elf down 'like a fucking boss'. It was a heady thing to be wanted like this. Especially given the urgency Eggsy was expressing and showing with every bitten off curse over the durability of Kingsman clothing, not to mention the fact that Harry was wearing so many layers.
A complaint Harry completely shared as he did his best to help Eggsy divert him of the clothing that was getting in the younger man's way. His coordination wasn't the best though, particularly when Eggsy got his trousers open and clever fingers wrapped around his cock to distract him.
"Fuck!"
Things got a little blurry after that, though the sight of Eggsy dropping to his knees to suck him off was one Harry wasn't likely to forget any time soon. That moment when Eggsy had looked up at him, the way he'd looked at him...well that was going to be etched quite firmly in his memory, thank you very much.
What followed was hot, dirty, and quick, with Harry's fingers buried in Eggsy's hair while he let Eggsy's mouth have its way with him.
Harry would have been embarrassed at how quickly he'd come if not for the strength of the orgasm ripping all other thoughts from his deprived of blood flow mind. And eventually, when he regained enough braincells to worry about Eggsy's pleasure, it was to discover Eggsy was equally embarrassed to have come untouched-he'd been that worked up and on edge.
Thank God. He wouldn't have had the coordination to have been much help in that regard.
Instead, Harry found himself sitting bare arsed on his front entrance floor, his back against his door and his clothes hanging off his splayed limbs to varying degrees. They'd held up pretty well, considering the lack of care shown by them in their haste. A thought that entered and left Harry's brain fairly quickly.
Eggsy, meanwhile, was resting his head on Harry's bare upper thigh, the boy's shirt still in place while the rest of his garments had been kicked off and were presently scattered across the front foyer. Normally Harry would have disapproved of using clothing to clean themselves up a bit-but Eggsy's trackies weren't exactly a loss.
And while later Harry was fairly sure he'd shake his head at himself, for now Harry was fine with his present predicament, however undignified. The sex had absolutely been worth it. And most certainly bore repeating in the future.
For now he would just appreciate the view as he absently stroked Eggsy's sweaty hair and tried to remember how exactly one stood, much less walked. Eventually they were going to have to get up off the floor.
The feel of Eggsy moving his head and twisting his body around had Harry giving his lover his full attention. Particularly his swollen, red lips.
Color still beguiling high on his cheeks, Eggsy's gaze was surprisingly solemn. "She's been doin it for decades, puttin your life at risk?"
Ah.
"To be fair, I've never pointed that out to her before today." He shouldn't have had to point it out, but this was his mother, Harry thought with a held back sigh. "She didn't have the previous barriers taken down to hurt me. She most likely saw it as an amusing game we were playing. Or a way of sticking it to me for shielding against her in the first place. Which many would argue is fair."
Eggsy had had a similar reaction to learning Harry warded against his mother, and knew it. Harry didn't hold that against him.
"My arrogance can be blamed as well."
"Wot ya mean?"
"If I'd confronted her, reminded her of the dangers of my job and the need for those wards and shields, she might have thought better of her actions. She doesn't actually want me hurt or killed, after all. But I was arrogant and egotistical enough that I brushed that off and basically pretended not to notice what she'd done. I believed that even if one of my enemies could find and get to my home, they wouldn't stand a chance against me. Which is flawed thinking, obviously, since even the strongest and most skilled can be killed with enough planning and force. It took having you and Daisy living with me for me to...your safety is of paramount importance. And I won't tolerate any threat to it."
"Plus you were already mad at her."
"That too. And her involving a member of the Fae..." Harry had to take a deep, calming breath at that thought before he could continue in a reasonable tone of voice. "I've let too many things slide with her. That needs to end. Now. She needs to start understanding that there are consequences for bad behavior."
Eggsy lips twitched in amusement. "Want ta send her ta her room, hmmm?"
"No. She has far too many things to amuse and occupy her there. As does Daisy, for that matter." Because that was obviously where both their minds were going.
Eggsy laughed in agreement.
"She'll ignore me and the situation for a while, whine to her family and friends about me. I would imagine the reason I'm angry with her will change significantly over time, and eventually she'll convince herself it was all a misunderstanding or my fault." Harry's lips curved evilly. "Which is why I'll be ringing my aunt this evening to tell her what actually happened."
Eggsy's still very distracting and beguiling lips opened to say something that went unspoken thanks to his stomach suddenly growling rather loudly. Reminding them both that Eggsy hadn't had lunch yet.
Chuckling over the increased redness of Eggsy's cheeks, Harry suggested they go hunt up some lunch.
That earned him a concerned look as Eggsy shifted into a sitting position beside him, looking quite debauched and sexy as hell in Harry's opinion. "You ain't had your lunch yet?"
"As a matter of fact, I haven't. Paperwork continues to rule my world." Ugh. "When I speak to Merlin about the fact that I'm staying here for the rest of the day, I'll tell him he can help himself to it. That should soften the blow."
Face lighting up, Eggsy hopped gracefully to his feet and then reached out a hand to help Harry do the same.
Very much appreciating the gesture Harry was grateful for the hand up, his other hand occupied with grabbing and then holding his trousers up to mid-thigh so that he wouldn't trip over them. He didn't even want to think about what a sight he must be at the moment.
"We should shower off first." Dressing, Harry thought as he looked Eggsy over again, was optional.
Hand free now, Eggsy looped them around Harry's neck as he stretched up for a quick kiss.
"Sounds good to me."
)
After rinsing off and getting dressed-with a few pauses in between for more kissing and loving touching-the two of them headed back downstairs to throw together some sandwiches for lunch. At this point both of their stomachs were making it clear that that needed to be their priority, unfortunately. Eggsy insisted on taking over the construction while Harry called Merlin to let him know that all was well and bribe him with Harry's original lunch.
The sooner that was taken care of the sooner they could have their lunch. And, maybe, a little nap?
Liking the thought of that rather a lot-especially since he could think of some delightful ways to enjoy Eggsy's company before they passed out or had to pick Daisy up-Harry readily agreed to Eggsy's plan and sat down to make the call and supervise the sandwiches being constructed.
And helping himself to some of the gherkin pickles Eggsy had already placed in a dish for them within easy reach. He was very fond of them.
"About bloody time you called." Merlin barked out as soon as he picked up. "Is the lad okay? What exactly happened?"
Right. He'd been skimpy on the details when he'd texted Merlin earlier. Of course at the time he'd barely known what was going on, so really, that tone was uncalled for. Not that Harry was stupid enough to say so as he gave a quick rundown of everything that had happened.
Merlin took a minute or so to think it all over. "Well. This could work to our advantage."
"Quite. I intend to tell Kay to do his worst."
"And that's considerable. I'll start coming up with a list of demands as soon as I get off the phone." Another pause, Merlin's tone changing to resignation. "I suppose you're also calling to tell me that you're staying home for the rest of the day. For the lad's sake, of course."
Despite being the boss Harry's original plan for today to be a half day hasn't cut it with Merlin when he'd suggested it before. In the end Merlin had agreed to him going home early...so really this was just a little earlier than they'd originally planned. And he'd do work from home, Harry added, when he pointed that out to Merlin before the Scotsman could start complaining too much.
He just wouldn't do it until much later in the evening, Harry silently added to himself.
The sound Merlin made conveyed suspicion.
"And this means you can eat my lunch as well as your own. Eggsy insists."
A loud sigh. "Fine. But only for the boy's sake."
"Of course."
Ignoring the heavy sarcasm Merlin went back to their original topic for a few more minutes, the two of them talking strategy before Harry told him that he had to go. His lunch was ready, and Eggsy was waiting for him. They had to keep his elf happy, after all.
"Git."
And on that note Merlin hung up on him, Harry amused rather than insulted.
"So ya can stay, then?"
"I can."
Face scrunching up a little, Eggsy lifted up the tray he'd put the sandwiches and drinks on. "You need an assistant, Harry. Ya work way too hard."
Picking up the pickle dish Harry nodded in agreement. "I know. Unfortunately, for the time being, that's not possible. May King rot in Hell."
"Wot?"
"My predecessor. Chester King. He restructured everything during his reign so that his approval was needed for every aspect of our operation. He wanted to know everything that went on in Kingsman-and control it. He enjoyed, I believe, thinking of all of us as being dependent upon his word and good will. Knowing that things couldn't get done or sanctioned without his knowledge and approval. He derived a great deal of pleasure from that."
Taking his seat, Eggsy stated that this King bloke sounded like a right git.
Sitting down as well Harry gladly accepted his plate from Eggsy. "Worse than that. The power went to his head and he damn well almost took Kingsman down with him." Harry wanted to kill the bastard very slowly every time he thought about it. "But as I was saying, the problem is that people got used to him exerting that much control over them. Expect it, now. Merlin and I are trying to slowly change things to give people more autonomy when possible, but also not overwhelming them all at once. Especially as, in some cases, we aren't entirely sure the individuals CAN do the job without someone looking over their shoulders."
"Gotcha."
Following Eggsy's lead Harry took a big bite of his sandwich, appreciating it quite a bit as it hit his very pampered stomach. Damn. Even Eggsy's sandwiches were better than some five-star restaurant offerings. Not that Eggsy would believe him. Hmmm.
"You know...we could ask for more information about house elves, as part of House Fray's atonement."
Having just taken a bite of his sandwich Eggsy couldn't verbalize his excitement just yet, but his face lit up and he gave the idea a thumb's up for emphasis.
Harry had to chuckle.
It was a very good idea though, if Harry did say so himself. They knew precious little, and what they did know wasn't from the most reliable of sources. House elves might be from a very unique branch of the Fae tree, but they were still Fae. They wouldn't have revealed all their gifts to their masters, much less how the gifts themselves worked. There was also the possibility that Eggsy could learn how to strengthen his abilities or to use them with purpose rather than accidentally, which could only benefit them.
Also, if there were cookbooks written by other house elves Harry knew that Merlin would move heaven and earth to see that Eggsy got his hands on them. He wasn't entirely sure he should put that idea into the other man's head.
Though he wouldn't be opposed to the idea...
"That would be fucking sick!" Eggsy enthused. "Especially if I could learn how ta protect ya at work, too."
"What do you mean?"
"Well house elves are connected ta everything owned by their masters, right? And you're the head of Kingsman. If I get super powerful than my magic should mix in with the shields and what not you lot have around the shop and headquarters. That will help keep you and Merlin, and the rest, safe. Won't it?"
Come to think of it, Chloe had mentioned that it would be a good idea for Eggsy and Daisy to spend time at Kingsman headquarters for that reason.
"It would be beneficial-so long as it doesn't put too much of a strain on you magically. And you do have a lot on your plate already." Even with Daisy in daycare Eggsy very much did the bulk of their shared parenting and other things. Harry was not about to ask more when he was already trying to think of ways to lessen the load for Eggsy.
A Cheshire cat smile. That was the only way to describe the type of smile Eggsy aimed in his direction.
Thought there was starting to be a hint of leer in it as Eggsy pointed out that he'd love excuses to visit Harry at work.
Ah. Well. Huh.
Thank goodness he was British and too well trained to squirm the way he wanted to. And Eggsy had likely intended.
