AN: Title comes from the song "Shall We Dance?" from The King and I… Just call it Kingsman and I. The dance portion is inspired by the dancing scene in the movie A Single Man.
Eggsy had been excited for his first seduction mission, until he learned that there was more to it than "infiltrate, get some action, snoop around, leave."
"If you're going to properly sneak into this party and escape without being detected," Merlin said, "you're going to have to learn to dance." He led Eggsy into one of the larger rooms at Kingsman HQ and went to plug in a set of speakers, while Eggsy hung back and scowled slightly.
"I doknow how to dance," he protested.
Busy with the speakers, Merlin didn't look back to respond. "Yes, but I wouldn't call 'gyrating and shaking your arse' dancing. And neither would the target. This is a formal affair."
Eggsy let out a sigh of suffering. "Come on,Merlin."
"Sorry, Eggsy," a new voice spoke up from the doorway. Both Eggsy and Merlin turned to see Harry enter the room. "I'm afraid Merlin's stuck too far in the 80's to appreciate your dancing talent. The 1880's, anyway."
Merlin rolled his eyes and turned back to the speaker set-up. "Anyway,the point is that you've got to learn to dance formally, and someonehas got to teach you how. That person would be me. We usually give any recruits who aren't familiar with ballroom dancing a crash course over the span of several weeks, but seeing as your mission is coming up next week, there's no time for anything but the basics. Now-" From within the pocket of his jacket, Merlin produced an iPod, which he promptly hooked up to the speakers. "All you have to do is follow my lead."
They tried a few steps together, Merlin moving easily and Eggsy mirroring him while Harry watched from the sidelines. However, Eggsy quickly abandoned the project in frustration.
"It's not the same without a partner," he said. "Just doesn't work right."
Smoothly Merlin flowed over to the speakers and hit the iPod's Pause button. "Is Roxy in?"
"No," Eggsy huffed. "She's out on a mission today."
"I'm surprised you had to ask," Harry commented lightly to Merlin. "It's time you brushed up on those organizational skills."
"And I won't say a wordabout yours," Merlin said dryly. "Eggsy, if you feel comfortable dancing with me I'd be happy to-"
"Excuse me?" Harry said, walking towards Merlin with eyebrows raised. "I know we favor the hands-on approach at Kingsman, but you seem to be forgetting a partner for yourself."
Merlin nonchalantly met Harry's eyes. "And who might that be?"
In answer, Harry sidled up to Merlin and placed one hand on his shoulder. "Let Eggsy watch us.You want him to learn from the best after all."
Merlin said nothing, but even Eggsy noticed the upward tug of his lips into a very small smile. He went to the iPod to select a song, but Harry shook his head. "Why don't we use mine?"
Merlin stepped back to let Harry hook up his smartphone and scroll through music selections. Soon enough the sweet sound of strings swelled across the room, and Eggsy grinned.
Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather…
"All right, the slow dance," Merlin said, not missing a beat. Harry turned and positioned himself right in front of Merlin. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before clasping hands and raising them. Harry placed his other hand very deliberately on Merlin's waist, and Merlin in turn rested his hand on Harry's upper arm.
"Placement of the hands is important when dancing with a partner," Merlin said as they began to slowly sway together. "You want to ensure their comfort as well as your own. If you're dancing with a woman, you'll be expected to lead. Lay your right hand on her waist, like Harry has with mine. Be confident in your movements."
They moved together in silence for a few seconds, and Eggsy watched happily. The thought crept into his mind that maybe he should subtly film this with his glasses, but he told the thought to get lost. This was a moment too good to be cheapened by instant replay.
"Slow dancing is one of the simplest forms of dancing," Merlin murmured to Eggsy, but his gaze was focused elsewhere. "You only need to move back and forth to the beat of the music. At a party, it's not uncommon to chat while dancing, and in fact would be encouraged on a mission. Helps build a rapport between you and the target."
"However," Harry spoke up, even quieter than Merlin, so that Eggsy wasn't even sure he was being spoken to, "silence can also be golden." He broke into a warm smile, his liquid brown eyes staring right into Merlin's, and Merlin seemed to come to life under his gaze. Ever so slowly, they bridged the small distance between them, their foreheads briefly touching before Merlin rested his chin on Harry's shoulder. They danced with a comforting familiarity, moving perfectly in sync as if they had been dancing together for years.
Which, as far as Eggsy knew, they had.
Merlin gave no more pointers until Etta James had drawled her last notes, after which Harry immediately pulled away from Merlin and rushed to his smartphone to prevent it from playing the next song. Looking slightly dazed, Merlin turned back to face Eggsy, only to find him grinning like a maniac.
"You two are brilliant," he said in teasing admiration. "Why don't you just assign Harry to the mission? He's a natural."
"Never again," Merlin and Harry chorused together, and shared a knowing glance.
"Besides," Harry went on, scrolling through his music, "we haven't even touched on swing dancing yet."
"They haven't hired a swing ba-" Merlin started to say, but all of a sudden an infectious drumbeat was pounding from the speakers, and Eggsy sat back to enjoy the show.