PLEASE READ.
The events of this story have been changed dramatically. If you're reading from where you think you left off, you WILL BE CONFUSED. Please re-read to understand. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
Nearly two weeks had passed since the altercation, and it goes without saying that both Samantha and Theodore had been perfectly behaved. The two had even been paired during an endurance exercise, only threatening each other three times out of the entire hour and a half. To her dismay, Theodore's nose was healing quite rapidly, and without the change that a break usually causes. No, his nose remained arrow-straight and perfectly in proportion with his face. Fucking prick.
All candidates had been sent off after dinner, allowed their usual hour before bed to relax and socialize with their peers. Though she could usually be found arguing with Quentin over who really won their game of chess or whether or not he had cheated during their card game, Samantha took the time to practice some of what she'd learned in the day.
Every so often, training would consist of workouts in the morning, lessons at midday, and a required skill in the evening. The sky had bottomed out the entire day, so she couldn't complain too much about being cooped inside. She had demolished her personal record for strength training that morning, legs sore and shaky from the day's efforts. It hadn't helped much that the required skill that day had been ballroom dancing, forcing even more on the control of the muscles in her legs.
She was stretched out on the floor of the dancehall now, head nearly touching her knee in a middle split. Agility training had been started a few weeks ago, and every time she watched one of the boys struggle with their forced poses, she couldn't help but laugh. Samantha could already feel her muscles relaxing and the tension pour out of her joints, and she sat up to massage the lactic acid from settling. She'd do herself no good if she let all her hard work go to waste. Taking a few calming breaths, she shifted and moved to the next leg.
During lessons, the class had been instructed on the proper way to bring a woman to an orgasm, the pressure points and sensitive areas to pay attention to that would ensure information. Her face had burned bright red for over two hours, but upon a glance around the room she found that the boys were all the same. One candidate, who she knew as Leo Winchcombe, had stuffed a book in his lap and refused to make eye contact with her until after dinner. He was sweet, but far too shy for anything Kingsman could require. If anything, he seemed like a better candidate for Merlin to host. She'd ask him why he hadn't chosen Leo over her one day.
Rocky's collar jingled to her right, and Samantha's eyes followed him to the door. Galahad was standing behind her, watching her in the mirror's reflection as she was him. "Pretty sure this room's locked after lessons." He commented, watching as she moved from her split to greet him. Eggsy had been observing her through the door's window for a moment, taking in every graceful movement and breath taken. She was beautiful, there was no doubt, but he knew the rules.
"It is," she said, smile holding no shame. She'd broken the lock after dinner and hoped no one had been watching, but, to her dismay, someone had. Rising to her feet, she turned to face him. He was still dressed in his usual attire; pressed slacks and polished shoes, white button down and a beautiful tie. He had lost the jacket, and somehow it made the picture even better. She couldn't tell which Galahad she liked more-the one who walked around in his sleepwear and helped find lost pups, or the one who could use that tie in more ways than one. "Though I had nothing to do with that."
He smiled, a slight hint of laughter in his voice. "Yeah, 'course." Samantha tilted her head at him when she smiled back, and in the flash of light in her eyes he caught gold mixed in with the green. "I ain't telling Merlin."
Samantha mock curtsied, making him laugh. "Thank you, kind stranger." It had occurred to her that the only information that she knew about him was his codename and that he was ridiculously handsome, so she had made it her personal goal to make it into Kingsman and gain the information. She was sure that she could pry it out of him eventually, but it didn't bother her too terribly. It made the stranger all the more attractive to her, and she'd admit that she may have dreamt about him once.
Rocky stood, trotting over to the pair and nuzzling Eggsy's hand for attention that he was more than happy to oblige. He had understood her stranger comment, but felt the urge to tell her his name at the very least. However, she wasn't his candidate, and it wasn't her duty to know. "Fuckin' hell, you're big." Squatting down to his level, he scratched behind the dalmatian's ears and felt his smile grow as the dog's tail wagged excitedly. "Remember me, yeah?"
Standing watch as he interacted with her dog, she couldn't help but notice the way his arm muscles showed through his shirt. All of the Kingsman agents were ridiculously toned, but she wanted to feel his strength under her hands. She'd never really had the urge to run her hands over someone, but she wanted to touch him as badly as a blind man wanted to see. She registered that he had asked her a question, staring at her expectantly. Samantha struggled to recall the information she had processed, realizing he had asked her how lessons were. "Fine, yeah, sorry. I'm second in class and third in active, though that doesn't mean much considering I'm a breath away from being toed out."
"I heard about that." It reminded him of when he and Charlie nearly had it out one night, though now he was thankful that Roxy had been there to intervene. Tristan's live feed had shown one of the meanest punches he had ever seen, and there was no way he would ever want to be on the receiving end. Even though she only had one hand (which would prove difficult for combat), the girl had a wicked arm. "Nice punch."
Samantha snorted, walking over to the barre and grabbing her standardized jacket, ready to retire for the evening. "Thanks. If you ask me, though, I feel like I should have hit a prick like that a whole lot harder."
Meow. Eggsy took in her stature, evaluating her like he would any enemy. Her obvious weakness was her missing hand, but she made up for it with wicked strength in her right arm and a high sense of balance and agility. She'd make a good sparring partner, and he made a mental note to volunteer to teach a lesson on close combat. "I know the type. You lot learned how to shag yet?"
She froze for a second, her face growing hot. He was either coming onto her, or trying to discuss the day's lesson. "I-yes, we have learned about the anatom-"
"I'm talking about the dance, love." Eggsy said with a quirk in his smile, having realized halfway through what it would sound like to her. Though, if she was looking for lessons in how to fuck, he'd be more than happy to oblige. He wondered if the news had been passed onto the candidates yet, but the test for that section was to actually have sex with a volunteer they provide. It was good for relieving stress, and it was also fun as hell. It had been one of his favorite times during training. When she answered no, he clapped his hands together once and moved to turn on the radio left, satisfied once he had found a more upbeat song. Loosening his tie and holding out a hand to her, he nodded. "Come on, then."
Samantha raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing otherwise as she took his hand into her own, pulled firmly towards him. It was a fairly simple dance, and he instructed her that the shag came from North Carolina, and was known by most Americans. For insurance's sake, he told her. He had questioned her waltzing skills only shortly after, though she suspected it was because he wanted to be a little closer to her. She was right.
His hand rested warmly on the small of her back, daring the line of ungentlemanly conduct. He was close enough that she could smell his aftershave, count the number of eyelashes he had. And christ, was she enjoying it. "I'm leaving on mission soon." Eggsy said, staring down at her. Sam lifted her head from his shoulder, meeting his eyes.
"You're not supposed to tell me that." She said with a sly look about her, and she rolled her eyes when Eggsy winked.
"Keep it between us then, love." He responded, hoping that Merlin hadn't been listening. That was highly unlikely, however, as Eggsy was trying (and succeeding) to woo his candidate. The pair continued to sway back and forth as he spoke, and Merlin, who had been watching from the moment she stepped into the room, sat back in his chair to observe. "Think of me when I'm gone, yeah?"
This made her laugh, a noise that he could hear all day. "Only of you, darling." She said, forcing her voice to be as posh and pretentious as she could manage. There was the slightest shift of the atmosphere, and Eggsy freed his hand from her own to remove an eyelash that had fallen into her face. She followed his movements, and there was a moment's hesitance as his hand brushed her cheek. They stood there, frozen, until Eggsy threw logic out of the window and leaned in for a kiss. Their lips had barely pressed together when Merlin's voice came through his glasses.
"Galahad, report to my office. You're going to have to leave a bit earlier than expected." Merlin ordered, not the slightest bit of guilt to his mind for breaking them up. Though agent and agent relationships weren't encouraged, they were sometimes allowed. The camaraderie that comes from a shared life or death experience often forced two together, but agent/candidate relationships were not allowed. All candidates had equal chance of elimination, and if they knew anything that could be dangerous to an agent, they would have to be put out. It was simply how the rules went.
He watched as the two moved apart silently, Eggsy settling for a kiss on the cheek instead. He nodded and muttered a few words to her, and Samantha was left in the dance hall by herself. His finger hovered over the intercom, but before he had the chance to speak she had called Rocky to her and was leaving. "Rules are rules, Eggsy." He muttered to himself, shutting down the screen and gathering what the agent would need for his debriefing.