A/N: Bloody hell, Harry, wear some clothes that aren't suits, I'm running out of suits to give you.
Chapter Two
Eggsy frowned down at the list in front of him, tapping his pen against the side and racking his brain for anything he may have forgotten.
He titled his head as he reread his scruffy scrawl for the millionth time.
Ceremony venue
Reception Venue
Flowers
Dinner ?
Religious/Non-religious?
Best man
Groomsmen?
Bridesmaids?
Outfits
Rings
Vows
telegrams? (wtf even are these?)
speeches (arrgh)
guests e.g distant relatives/seating plan ect
decorations
alcohol/e.g free bar (alcoholic relatives?)
parents of bride/groom (groom/groom)
music
invitations
He glared down at the unfortunate amount of question marks before pulling his phone out and selecting Harry's name.
Gt that sxy ass of yours over later, need help xx
It was barely a minute later that his phoned buzzed again.
What's wrong? Xx
Eggsy rolled his eyes, momentarily having forgotten over-protective Harry who was half-certain he was going to crack his head open on every blunt surface.
He merely replied: died, was tragic, need help with funeral plans
The reply he got back was just as callous and sarcastic in a way that assured Eggsy they were made for each other.
You're making lists again, don't worry. Be over later, superman to the rescue xx
Eggsy grinned to himself as his heart fluttered inside his chest.
He glanced back down at his list and his eyes momentarily focused on parents of the groom/groom.
Worry bubbled inside him as he wondered what his mother would have to say at such news. He hoped that she would be happy for him, she seemed to have taken to Harry nicely but Eggsy was unsure whether or not that was because she liked him or merely that she felt guilty about Dean and that guilt was soon to wear off.
He shook his head as he forced himself not to think about it, it was a bad rut to get yourself into, consistently expecting the worst from people. His mother loved him and would be happy that he was happy, that was it.
Harry arrived at his flat about an hour and a half later and, having come straight from work, was naturally looking like a runway model in a grey bespoke suit and a deep red tie tucked neatly inside.
"Adventurous." Eggsy commented as he pulled on Harry's tie and kissed him softly. "You didn't have to come straight from work, you know."
"I know how flustered you get when you make lists," Harry merely observed, he held up a white bag. "Besides, I brought food."
Eggsy grinned loudly as he flopped onto the sofa. Harry went straight to the kitchen and began to pull plates from the cupboard.
Eggsy rolled his eyes, another learned posh thing about the optician was his inability to eat takeaway from the takeaway container.
Eggsy remembered once voicing that it took the fun out of ordering food and Harry had merely assured him that there were more satisfying ways to have fun before pushing him down onto the couch.
Eggsy was so caught up in that particular fond memory that he completely missed Harry placing a plate of chinese food in front of him and joining him on the couch.
"Darling." Harry said, Eggsy's face snapped to his and he blinked. Harry shook his head as Eggsy grinned.
"Okay, what have you come up with?" Harry asked.
Eggsy grappled his list from the coffee table before swinging his legs on the sofa and across Harry's waist.
Eggsy expected the older man to admonish such behaviour but Harry merely stroked a hand across his shin as he ate.
"Err...okay," Eggsy began. "Ceremony venue?"
Harry inclined his head to the side in thought for a moment. "I...personally, am not sure about churches."
"No, same." Eggsy continued, breathing a sigh of relief as he crossed off 'religious or non-religious.' "I hate churches, stuffy, uh."
"Well, we live in sin, we might as well get married in sin." Harry admitted coyly, sending Eggsy a sideways grin.
"I'll marry you in sin any day, baby." Eggsy supplied, reading further down his list.
"Flowers – I thought I'd leave you in charge of flowers, you know, considering you're the top-secret government florist."
"Mmm." Came Harry's amused voice.
"Do we both get best men?" Eggsy asked. "You ain't allowed to laugh because I don't know, but it seems a little...I dunno...pointless?"
"I don't think there's a marriage rule-book." Harry said. "I think people pick and choose traditions they like to suit themselves but the joy of non-religious weddings is that you can celebrate your union without the stigma. Like when Sam got married she threw away many of the 'traditions', her father didn't give her away, for example."
"Why not?" Eggsy asked.
"She believed it to be inherently sexist because of what it stands for, in the same way that church weddings and 'mother's of the bride' and all that are inherently heteronormative. The traditions don't call for us, so naturally, we do what we please."
"Wow," Eggsy said, a little dazed. "I never thought about it like that. You've really given it a lot of thought, haven't you?"
"I was born in a time where homosexuality had just been legalised," Harry reminded him, voice light. "Growing up in the 70s and the 80s rather made you believe that there was no normal for what you were and what you did." Harry's hand found Eggsy's. "You see, I never thought I would ever get the chance to marry, that people like us didn't have a place in the rituals of the heterosexuals. But now...we should own it, control it. Make it about us instead of about everyone else. I'm marrying you because I love you, because I adore you and I want to call you mine, I like to think that you're marrying me for the same reasons. So whether or not we high tail it to Vegas or have twelve groomsmen and bridesmaids, the only thing that matters is that it absolutely makes us happy."
Eggsy was speechless for a moment, overcome with how incredibly lucky he'd been to have found such a soul as Harry's. He held his hand a little tighter.
"You know I adore you." He said quietly, suddenly desperate for Harry to know how much he meant to him. "You mean the world to me, you know that, right?"
Harry nodded and Eggsy smiled.
"Come on," Harry said, tapping Eggsy's shin. "Eat something, you need to keep your strength up."
Eggsy rolled his eyes but dutifully pulled his plate towards him.
…
It was an odd occurrence for Eggsy to insist on going to the Hart Estate, particularly when Harry never really enjoyed their visits, but Eggsy had voiced, later in the evening, that he wanted to see Catherine and Edward with everything that was going on.
Harry thought that was disarmingly sweet and had told Eggsy to sit tight as he came to pick him up.
He smiled down at the colour-organised binder on the passenger seat as he picked it up with one hand before he hopped out of the car and made his way to Eggsy's door.
Eggsy let him in almost immediately, shirtless and with a smile plastered across his face, before he flounced back to his bedroom.
"I hope you're getting dressed," Harry called playfully from the living room, "we don't have time for that."
Eggsy returned,grinning coyly as he buttoned his shirt. "Later, big boy." He said. Harry's gaze lowered to Eggsy's hands on his shirt and settled on the silver band nestled perfectly on his left hand.
He found it hard to contain his smile as Eggsy finished.
"There, good to go." He said, before eyeing the folder in Harry's hand.
"Oh, I got this." Harry said suddenly, thrusting it to Eggsy. "Wedding planner, I thought it might be prudent, considering your penchant to over-think things."
Despite the teasing, Eggsy couldn't help smiling shyly as he accepted it. It was such a disarmingly sweet gesture and yet Harry probably wasn't even sure he was making one.
"Thanks." Was all he managed to say. "I'll...just find a place for this."
"I'll wait." Harry said breezily while Eggsy walked back into his bedroom. He put the wedding planner in his bedside drawer a little too eagerly and the front page fell open. It read 'Wedding of..." and the opportunity was too enticing to pass up.
He fumbled for a pen and quickly wrote down "Unwin-Hart" before he closed the drawer and made his way back out to Harry.
"You could have gone to the car." Eggsy pointed out.
"A gentleman always escorts his fiancé to the vehicle." Harry supplied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Eggsy slid his hand into Harry's and pressed a kiss of approval to his cheek.
"So how is she?" Eggsy asked in the car ride. He watched as Harry's hands tightened on the steering wheel slightly, not from anger, Eggsy knew that, Harry wasn't an angry person, but from worry.
"She's okay." He admitted honestly. "I think she really is, she's come to terms with what's happening. They knew about this for a long time before we did, apparently, they just didn't want to say anything. Because I was..." He tailed off, not wanting to bring up that horrific incident again. "Well, anyway. She also said she didn't want to worry us before they knew anything definitive."
"Why do parents do that?" Eggsy huffed suddenly.
"Do what?" Harry asked, inclining his head towards him.
"Keep things from you to protect you," he expanded, "I mean, I get the appeal but if I've learnt anything from being with you then it's that honesty is literally the best policy. Imagine how many times we could have been pulled apart if we weren't honest with each other."
"Or if you didn't have such a ridiculous boyfriend." Harry supplied, amused.
"I don't have a ridiculous boyfriend." Eggsy reminded him, "I have a ridiculous fiancé, though."
Harry smiled despite himself before his face fell. "About that..." He said slowly. "I was thinking...perhaps we shouldn't tell my parents just yet, not until everything is in complete neutral. No shocks, no frills. Just complete calm and normality until they're settled. Do you understand?" He said it softly, almost guiltily.
Eggsy felt an initial stab of hurt but that quickly dissipated when he listened to Harry's reasoning. Eggsy had to remind himself that he was merely doing everything he could to protect his parents. He knew that if his mother was dying he wouldn't want to go shouting about his good news the second she got back from hospital.
Catherine greeted them warmly at the large, red-carpeted staircase. Eggsy immediately noticed how she hugged Harry just a little bit tighter and a little bit longer than normal.
Before they even spoke about Edward, she asked after his own health and his trip to Falmouth. Eggsy was so taken aback by her selfless, accommodating nature that he couldn't reply for a second.
"Err...great, thank you. Really fine, everyone was very friendly. How are you, I'm so sorry to hear about...everything."
"Oh, sweetheart, you're too kind." Catherine smiled. "You shouldn't be worrying about me, you have your own lives to be getting along with."
"How's dad?" Harry asked, mouth dry.
"Oh, he's fine, darling." Catherine said quickly, a little too quickly. "He's just asleep upstairs. I shouldn't think we should wake him. Would you like some tea?"
The three sat in an expensively furnished dining room whilst a smartly dressed maid brought them tea.
Eggsy was aware that Edward and Catherine kept staff, he'd seen a couple around at various times and with the size of the estate, there was no feasible way that it could be maintained by two elderly pensioners.
But still, as he smiled at the young lady who poured him tea he felt overcome with unease, knowing it could easily be him in her position. That it should have been, really. Somehow he'd worked his way to the other side of the table.
He turned his attentions back to Catherine, she was absent-mindedly dropping sugar cubes in her teacup whilst she talked to Harry.
"...And I heard back from Joseph, love, he's heading to Australia for the cricket season."
"Really?" Harry asked, sounding interested but Eggsy knew that he couldn't care less. Catherine probably couldn't care less, either, to be fair. But he supposed both of them were skirting around the subject at hand.
Eggsy kept his hands folded in his lap so that Catherine wouldn't catch sight of the ring on his left hand. He supposed it would be easy enough to explain away but he put his foot down at actually lying to her.
Instead, he snaked a hand out under the table and grasped at Harry's. Harry's head didn't incline and his expression didn't waver as he gave his mum his undivided attention but Eggsy felt him squeeze back.
"So what did the doctors say?" Harry interjected finally.
Catherine looked like she stopped breathing for a moment before she brought her teacup delicately to her lips and breathed out a sigh. "They said that he's very strong. Apparently, with these sorts of situations, they consider lung transplants these days, can you believe that, lung transplants? Well, anyway, they said he was a little too old for that sort of thing. Besides, even if he hadn't have been, I doubt he'd want it anyway. I wouldn't, could you imagine, Eggsy, having someone else's lung?"
Eggsy quickly shook his head, agreeing instantly with her. She was chuckling as she spoke but he could tell pretty instantly that she was pretending to be happier than she was.
Eggsy could tell by the way Harry's hand was cutting circulation off in his own, that he wasn't happy at all.
"It's sods law," Eggsy expressed later on when they left the Hart estate. "Your dad, I mean, I know you lot are rich and everything but you do like, so much for charity. It's not fair."
"Everything has its time." Harry said lightly. "Besides, you heard my mother. He could potentially have years left in him once he regains his strength."
Eggsy nodded encouragingly but could see the pain in Harry's eyes as he stood aside to allow Eggsy to walk inside his home before he did.
Eggsy remembered being far too young to really process his father's death, but he remembered the void that it had left in him that still existed today.
"Harry..." He said suddenly, pressing gently against Harry's chest as they walked inside.
"Eggsy?" Harry asked quizzically.
"You know I'm here for you, right? If you ever wanna talk about it or if you ever need anything."
Harry was silent for a long moment before his eyes seemed to visibly soften. "What would I ever do without you?" He asked, pressing a soft kiss to Eggsy's cheek before he walked inside.
Eggsy hated to see Harry troubled this way. He'd been like this about Dartmoor and about Dean, granted, but those things were about Eggsy. He could easily assure Harry that he was okay and would remain okay but this, there was nothing Eggsy could do to fix this. Not personally, or even impersonally. In fact, there was only one way he could think to help his fiancé: distraction.
"I'm gonna take your mind off of everything." Eggsy announced suddenly.
"Hmm?" Harry said, breaking out of his own conflicting thoughts and turning to him. "What do you mean?"
"You're freaking out," Eggsy said pointedly, "it don't matter how quietly you do it, I can still tell." He smiled mischievously as something awesome and terrifying popped into his head. "And I've just thought of the perfect way to distract you."
"Have you now?" Harry asked, tone playful and eyebrow raised.
Eggsy, however, merely held a hand out in front of him. "Follow me."
Harry allowed Eggsy to pull him up and lead him to the bedroom. Eggsy was fairly certain Harry was sure what was to follow and grinned at how wrong the optician was.
The thought process was quite simple, really. Eggsy knew that whenever he felt vulnerable or afraid, one thing that always helped him was Harry taking control, being dominant. Showing him that he was loved and protected and he didn't have to worry because Harry had him. So that was what Eggsy was going to do, he was going to make sure Harry knew that he wasn't alone.
"Take your clothes off, get on the bed." Eggsy instructed in a harder voice than he'd been expecting.
Harry gave him a startled look but Eggsy forced his expression to remain the same, like Harry's always did; soft, calming but with an air of control, of power and strength. It was surprisingly hard to muster.
Harry didn't say anything in reply and after a few moments of realising that Eggsy wasn't going to waver, his expression levelled out and his hands went to the buttons on his pinstriped brown suit jacket.
Eggsy watched, interested, as Harry shed each layer of his clothing, letting them fall, creased, to the floor beneath him until he was stood, completely naked, hands finding their way to his hips.
Eggsy was transfixed for a moment at the intense eroticism of what was happening, at the confident and almost lazy way Harry seemed to unsheathe himself. He was still very much soft but his eyes were dark as he stared at Eggsy.
"Lie on the bed." Eggsy instructed, voice decidedly lower than normal. Harry gave him one confused look before he sat gently on the bed, lowering himself until he was lying down and facing Eggsy.
Eggsy very nearly rolled his eyes when Harry merely crossed his ankles and stared at him with hooded eyes.
So dominating Harry Hart was going to be more difficult than he'd first imagined. Eggsy looked around himself for inspiration, not quite sure what he was going to come across, when his breath hitched and his eyes settled on Harry's tie rack.
Out of his periphery, he noticed Harry shifting and turned to see that the older man was staring at the tie rack as well, Eggsy watched as his Adam's apple bobbed and his cock, suddenly filling, throbbed against his abdomen.
Eggsy grinned hugely to himself as he sauntered deliberately over to the tie rack and plucked a maroon tie and a navy tie down, marvelling at how soft the fabric felt beneath his fingers. Perfect.
He then turned to Harry, whose legs were now awkwardly splayed, fingers gently digging into the bed and eyes trained on him, before he crossed to the bed, running his fingers gently along Harry's left arm as he tied the maroon tie around his wrist and fastened it to one of the posts of the four poster bed, it took him a few moments to secure a knot that was tight but not restrictive and Harry didn't take his eyes from him once. When Eggsy crossed to the other arm, he noticed the shallow rise and fall of his lovers chest and allowed his hand to stroke the exposed skin there for a moment before he carefully tied Harry's right wrist with the navy tie.
He quickly clambered on the bed and settled himself, still fully clothed, in Harry's naked and exposed lap and was suddenly overcome with the amount of power at his fingertips.
Harry's hazel-flecked eyes were weary but unmistakably turned on, if the hard cock twitching at his abdomen was anything to go by. Eggsy reached a hand out and plucked Harry's glasses from his nose, settling them on the side of the bed.
Harry blinked a couple of times at the sudden change before Eggsy trailed a finger absent-mindedly along the underside of his exposed cock and the optician's eyes flew open.
Eggsy grasped Harry's cock lazily in his fist, closing his fingers around the girth and Harry's breath hitched in his throat.
"W...what's gotten into you?" He asked, voice trembling.
Eggsy merely gave him a shallow tug and grinned coyly at him. "You, hopefully." He replied.
Harry stared at him unblinkingly and Eggsy let out a quiet laugh as he continued the gentle, barely-there strokes of Harry's painfully erect member. He watched in interest as it turned a shade of aggressive purple, precome wetting the slit ever so slightly.
Eggsy couldn't resist pressing the pad of his index finger gently against it and was rewarded with a quiet gasp and Harry uselessly bucking his hips in the air.
Harry winced and closed his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead and Eggsy felt sudden sympathy shoot through him. He hadn't meant to torture Harry, after all, he just accidentally became high on power for a moment.
He instantly clenched his fist tighter and stroked Harry faster, the force of each tug shaking the bed beneath them slightly.
A broken moan spilled from Harry's mouth and he began to breathlessly babble something so quietly that Eggsy wasn't completely sure what the word was but he was certain it sounded like, 'please...'
Harry's hips stuttered up, pushing his leaking cock into Eggsy's clenched fist and Eggsy immediately released his hold, pulling his hand back into his own lap.
He watched, captivated, as Harry's cock jerked helplessly at the air as if it had a life of its own.
Harry let out a strangled moan, head hitting the pillow and eyes bursting open.
"Eggsy, that's not fair..." Harry admonished, but his breathless tone made it sound more pleading than scolding.
Eggsy merely smirked as he hopped from Harry's lap, quickly shedding his own clothes and releasing his straining dick from its confines, watching as it twitched against him before he opened the bedside drawer and grabbed the half-used bottle of lube he was looking for.
He settled back on Harry's waist – skin coming into contact with skin – and allowed his hand to stroke tenderly across the erratic rise and fall of Harry's chest before his hand passed over the exposed underside of Harry's cock. Harry could feel the heat emanating from his hand and shivered before Eggsy took his hand away and opened the lube, pouring some onto his own hand.
"That was...that was cruel." Was all Harry managed to get out.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Eggsy said, and he sounded so damn innocent that Harry very nearly believed him, but he knew the naughty danger that lurked behind those wide, innocent eyes all too well.
Harry had never known Eggsy to be this way before, if anything, it wasn't his natural state but he seemed to have taken to it like a trooper, and Harry would be lying if he said he wasn't immensely enjoying this maddening agony as well.
But Harry knew why Eggsy was doing what he was doing, to help him, to take his mind off of...Harry's eyes suddenly locked on Eggsy's as he watched the younger man spread his thighs on Harry's lap and press a slick finger into himself, moaning blearily as he did so, eyes shutting and mouth agape.
Harry tried to move his arms but he was trapped, the knots keeping him secure against the bed. He desperately imagined Eggsy pulsing around his own fingers, his cock as he spasmed and wriggled, unable to cope with the intense press against his sensitive, puckered hole.
Eggsy slid another finger inside of himself and writhed onto his own hand, Harry's cock twitched as he watched him and he damn near dribbled at the sight.
"Fuck, Eggsy," he breathed out, "if destroying me is your distraction technique; it's fucking working."
Eggsy didn't reply, was probably too far gone to reply, as he slipped his fingers from himself, leaving his hole pink and gaping before he swallowed involuntarily, taking a moment to calm himself before his hand snaked out and wrapped around the base of Harry's cock.
He lifted his hips until Harry's cockhead found his hole and then he was sliding down, eliciting a load groan from the older man.
"You know the best bit about you being all tied up..." Eggsy panted, swallowing a few more inches into himself. "...Is that I can ride you as long as I want, make you come...and you can beg me to stop but it won't matter, 'cause I'll just keep going..."
Harry threw his head back against the pillow and groaned loudly as Eggsy settled in his lap, Eggsy moaned softly as he flexed around Harry, grinding his hips down.
Harry's arms tugged uselessly at his restraints and Eggsy could see his bicep muscles quivering. He would have taken a moment to be proud of his unexpected knot prowess had he not been preoccupied with Harry's hard cock pulsating deeply inside of him, stretching the skin of his sensitive hole around the thick base.
He struggled to keep still as it felt like every nerve ending was on fire, although if he thought he was a quivering mess, all he had to do was take a look at the man beneath him.
Harry was like a live wire; shaking, arms tensing against his restraints as he tried to touch Eggsy but he couldn't. Eggsy grinned down breathlessly at him, knowing that he was the only thing on Harry's mind in that moment.
He rolled his hips forward, stuttering and cursing when the movement caused the hot head of Harry's dick to drag across his prostate.
"Fuck...Harry..." Eggsy found himself calling out. He suddenly wished Harry were able to touch him, to hold him, to wrap a strong hand around him and...He shook his head to himself, this wasn't about him. This was about taking control away from Harry so he didn't have to worry any more.
Instead, he wrapped a still lubed hand around himself and squeezed gently, shifting himself forward again, eyes slamming shut at the feeling.
"I'm...Eggsy...I won't..."
"I know." Eggsy said gently, opening his eyes and looking down at Harry as he forced his hips into a gentle, agonising rhythm. He knew Harry wasn't going to last long, he could feel it inside him. "We're on no schedule, babe." He stroked comfortingly along Harry's quivering stomach as he moved, vision unfocused suddenly as he shifted, feeling the slick slide against his exposed sweet spot and tensing at the sudden shot of heat within him.
Harry cried out suddenly, arching his back as he jerked and spasmed inside of Eggsy, cock leaking boiling come into him. Eggsy's mouth fell open as he instinctively tightened his fist around his drooling head and then he was dribbling down his own shaft, bucking against Harry and moaning uncontrollably, unable to stop the jerking off his hips when each roll brought about a new wave of pleasure/pain for the pair of them.
"God..." Harry said, breath ragged. "Untie me...please."
Eggsy reached forward immediately and loosened the maroon knot and Harry made effortlessly quick work of the navy one before his strong arms were around Eggsy's frame, holding him tightly against him as Eggsy clung on, kissing down the side of Harry's neck without agenda.
The pair collapsed down onto the bed and Eggsy shifted slightly, allowing Harry to slip from him and shuddering at the warm, gooey liquid seeping out from his sensitive hole.
"So..." Eggsy finally voiced after a few moments of heavy breathing from the pair of them. "You distracted?" He asked.
"...What?" Was all Harry said, sounding vaguely dazed.
Eggsy laughed breathlessly.
"I think I nearly blacked out." Harry said eventually, eyes still focused on the ceiling.
"Now you understand how I feel every time you fuck me." Eggsy said lazily, reaching a hand across Harry's chest and pulling himself into him.
Harry gladly accepted him and wrapped a lax arm around Eggsy.
"Harry..." Eggsy said against the older man's damp skin.
"Yes?" Harry replied, stroking gently up and down his spine.
"I get we can't tell your parents yet but...I wanna tell mum."
Harry hesitated for a moment. "She's going to murder me."
"No she ain't." Eggsy said, voice wavering only slightly. "She loves you. Secretly."
"Very secretly."
Eggsy clambered onto his elbows and faced Harry, pouting. "Please." Was all he said.
Harry merely chuckled as he surged forward and pressed a surprisingly gentle kiss to Eggsy's lips. "If I say no, are you going to tie me up again?" He whispered.
Eggsy laughed as he kissed him back. "Only if you're lucky."
…
Eggsy bounced Daisy on his knee as Michelle and Roxy stared at him quizzically from the other couch.
His thought process, and he was quite proud of it really, was that if he was holding his little sister, then his mother couldn't throttle him.
"So what's this big news, then?" Roxy finally asked. "Are you pregnant?"
"No." Eggsy shook his head, he wanted to laugh but his mouth was suddenly dry at the scrutiny. "I..." He shook his head suddenly. "Harry asked me to marry him." He said quickly.
The pair of faces that looked back at him were blank for several long moments and he feared that they were both in shock and he'd have to call 999.
"...And?" Roxy finally prompted, leaning forward slightly.
"I said yes." Eggsy replied a little sheepishly.
"Oh my God!" Roxy squealed, launching off of the sofa and enveloping him into a side-hug so as to avoid his sister. He laughed as he put an arm around her but his eyes focused on Michelle, who was still looking blankly at the floor.
"This is just so..." Roxy said, pulling back. Eggsy immediately noticed that her eyes were full of moisture. "I just knew you pair of idiots weren't going to be good for my mascara." She said, wiping at her eyes.
"Don't cry." Eggsy said a little weakly.
She laughed again as she perched next to him. "Did you?"
"What, cry?" He asked. "Err, no, it wasn't really a crying moment..." His mind was momentarily drawn back to their dry-humping on the floor.
"Oh my God, how did he ask you? Have you set a date yet? Can I be your best man?"
"I'm not having a best man." He told her, grinning as her face fell. "I do need you to be my maid of honour, though."
She squealed again and threw her arms around him.
"Mum?" Eggsy asked worriedly, looking over to his mother. "W...what do you think?"
"I...err..." She said, shock in her voice. "Harry is a nice man." She finally said. "He can take care of you, and he does take care of you, I can see that."
Eggsy waited for the invariable 'but'.
"But...marriage is a big commitment, a lifelong commitment. You have to think about the future, about what you know will happen."
"I know." He said seriously, voice suddenly quiet. Roxy gave him a concerned look from beside him. "I know." He repeated, attempting a shallow smile. "I'm at peace with it, mum."
She regarded him for the longest moment before she said: "okay."
"Okay?" Eggsy prompted hopefully.
"Yeah," she said, before smiling slightly. "My...I can't believe my baby is getting married." She said, hands flying to her face. She looked suddenly concerned. "I have nothing to wear."
…
Eggsy was aware that he was getting obsessed when he began googling different types of wedding venues but resolved to himself that the wedding planner had to be filled.
He was debating indoor or outdoor, obviously partially dictated by the month they set the date in, when his phone vibrated in his hand.
Eggsy stared down in confusion when Chris' name appeared across his screen and quickly answered.
"Hello?" He said into the receiver.
"Hey, Eggsy." Floated out the soft Welsh accent of the royal marine. "You alright?"
"Yeah, great." Eggsy said immediately, finding himself oddly happy to hear his friends' voice again. "You?"
"Yeah, yeah, great. Listen, I got news, I'm in London."
"Really?" Eggsy asked. "Why?"
"Moved down here, bro. Stationed at your barracks, now."
"No way." Eggsy exclaimed delightedly, face lighting up. "That's fucking fantastic."
"I know, right?" Chris replied, sounding equally joyous. "Just wondered if you wanted to meet up or something, don't really know the area."
"Sure thing." Eggsy replied happily. "I'll text you."
Eggsy was just hanging up as Harry walked into the kitchen, towel wrapped loosely around himself. He pressed a quick kiss to the scar at Eggsy's temple before he noticed his expression.
"What are you so happy about?" He asked.
"One of my mates just moved down," Eggsy said, Harry nodded in interest as he removed his towel and began drying his hair. "It's err..."
"It's what?" Harry pressed.
"It's not the most interesting thing happening right now." Eggsy quickly supplied before he launched himself at his fiancé.
…
Eggsy sat sprawled on the floor, rested against Harry's legs with the wedding planner unfurled on his lap.
He was consciously aware of Harry tapping away on his phone above him and Roxy's hands flying across her laptop keyboard across from them.
"So are you thinking inside or out?" She asked suddenly, glancing across from them.
"I was thinking about that," Harry said, "it all depends on the weather, really. But I don't want to get married in the winter."
"Yeah, it'll be awkward as fuck." Eggsy supplied. "I hate the cold."
"So I noticed." Harry said, voice amused as he recoiled at the memory of the three months of consistent complaining from his fiancé from November to January about slight dips in the temperature.
"But not boiling, though." Eggsy said, making a face. "I ain't sweating like a pig on my wedding day."
Harry chuckled and his hand found Eggsy's shoulder. "You're perfect the way you are, my love." He said gently, Eggsy smiled hugely as he grasped his hand.
"Yeah, if we could keep the lovey-dovey crap to the bedroom..." Roxy voiced. "Ah, what about June?"
"What, this June?" Eggsy asked.
"No, Eggsy. June 2024." Roxy said dryly. Eggsy gave her a dithering look.
"Alright, children." Harry interjected. "June sounds lovely, Roxy. Eggsy?"
"Yeah, I like it, too." Eggsy said. "But that's only a few months away. Seems so...real." He angled his head up to see Harry and Harry knew what that look meant.
"I know." He sighed.
"What?" Asked Roxy.
"I've yet to tell my parents about the engagement," Harry replied, sounding decidedly glum. "What with their current...situation. But now is a good time, I think."
"It'll be fine." Eggsy assured him, smiling to himself as he wrote 'June :)' down in the wedding planner.
…
When they veered into one of the many living rooms of the Hart Estate, a large, open space with expensive sofas and glass coffee tables, they weren't expecting to find Edward Hart sat, quite casually, on one of the sofas reading.
"Dad!" Harry exclaimed, voice a few octaves higher than usual as he bolted to him.
"Hello, son." Edward replied, book barely in his lap by the time Harry had wrapped his arms around him. "Oof, Harry. Give me room to breathe, would you?"
"Sorry." Harry said sheepishly, pulling away from his father.
Edward looked tired, and older than before, his lips were slightly pale and his skin held a translucent quality but he looked...okay.
"You've not got your oxygen cannister." Harry pointed out.
"Doctors say that if I have a break a couple of hours every day, I'll probably barely have to use it in future."
"Dad...that's fantastic." Harry smiled.
Harry was expecting his father to look pleased and was surprised at the raised-eyebrow look he got from the man.
"Harry, you're being rather rude. Don't you think?"
Harry's forehead creased in confusion for a moment until he realised what his father was talking about. He straightened up and turned on his heel, Eggsy was still stood in the doorway, ankles crossed awkwardly and hands behind his back.
Harry knew his parents still frightened Eggsy to some degree, and felt instantly guilty for leaving him stood alone.
"Eggsy, m'boy." Edward began, smiling. "Come on in. Sorry for not standing but..."
"No, no, it's fine." Eggsy said quickly as he walked across the space to join Harry. "Are you...how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thank you, son." He said. "Did you have a safe trip?"
"Oh," Eggsy was a little taken aback by the question before he quickly answered: "yeah it was fine. No...no...head injuries, this time..."
"Well, that's good to hear."
"Dad, where's mum?" Harry asked suddenly.
"In the garden, I think." Edward said vaguely, "why? You didn't just pop by to visit your dear old dad?"
"Yes and no." Harry supplied. "We need to talk to you both."
Edward closed his book and set it next to himself. "Oh? Good or bad?"
"Good," Harry said, sending a sideways smile to Eggsy who smiled nervously back. "But, important."
…
"I should have really said something before." Harry began, sounding guilty as he looked across the room at his mother and father. He could feel the heat of Eggsy sat next to him and was suddenly glad that he wasn't doing it alone.
Of course, Eggsy had insisted he wanted to tell his mother alone to lessen the shock slightly but Harry had the advantage of having the more understanding family.
"Well, don't keep us on edge any longer then." Catherine said, tone insistent. "What is this big news?" She looked suddenly horrified. "Oh, you're not moving away, are you?"
"No, mum. We're not moving away, we're..." He turned to Eggsy and saw the younger man grinning nervously albeit reassuringly at him. "We're getting married."
Catherine blinked a couple of times and Edward's lips immediately stretched into a grin.
"I knew it." He said immediately. "I knew this would happen."
"You did?" Harry asked, confused.
"Son, I can read you like a book. I knew you'd found the one. None of that 'Jack' nonsense."
Harry's head suddenly dipped and Eggsy's hand snaked out across the space between them and slipped into his, exposing his engagement ring to Harts.
"Oh." Catherine said, hand flying to her mouth as moisture gathered in her eyes. "Oh, honey..." Her voice broke suddenly and she was across the room, pressing a succession of kisses to Harry's face and then to Eggsy's. "Oh, my beautiful boys," she said, clasping her hands together. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks, mum." Harry said.
"Thank you, Catherine. Edward." Eggsy said, somehow finding strength in his voice. "I, err, I know that me and Harry, we're a bit unconventionally and it means a lot to know that you...approve."
"Darling, how could we not approve of the man who made our beautiful son smile again?" She said, eyes wet. She gave Eggsy a warm smile before she turned to Edward.
"Oh, darling, this is incredible news, we must tell everyone, we must celebrate!"
Harry squeezed his hand affectionately and Eggsy felt a sudden stab of melancholy. He wished that his own mother had reacted how Catherine was reacting now, wished that she could see past everything and be happy for Eggsy's happiness.
Harry must have noticed something in his expression change because his face fell and he leant into him.
"Is everything okay?" Harry asked quietly whilst his mother talked to his father.
"Yeah." Eggsy said honestly. "Just...wish mum had been half this happy."
Harry sincerely wished that there was something he could say or do to make Eggsy happy, to fight off all of the bad in his life but he couldn't.
He simply surged forward and kissed him, hoping that it showed Eggsy that, at least when he was with him, everything was okay.
"Oh, look at you two." Catherine said fondly and the pair broke apart, blushing.
"If we aren't interrupting you," Edward began, with a twinkle in his eye. "Your mother and I were just suggesting an engagement party."
Harry sent a sideways glance to Eggsy. "What...here?"
"Of course, here! Why not?" Edward said, Catherine smiled at them and Eggsy and Harry shared one awkward look before Eggsy smiled hugely at them and said: "brilliant."