AN: Sorry for the lateness but here it finally is. Enjoy and thank you as always!

Roxy got her karate lessons. Surprisingly, not because of James and Alastair's intricate thinking but instead because Roxy's mother caved. Rather it was because Roxy was persuasive enough or persistent enough, it was hard to say, but she eventually got her way without having to take ballroom dancing lessons to.

James became even more involved with Roxy's life and when she had a recital coming up, of course he wanted to go. Alastair couldn't due to being on a mission but he claimed it was fine and it could be like James was going in his stead.

The only downside was he'd have to spend the evening with Alastair's mother and father.

James was finding that every time he saw Alastair's mother, she became more and more grotesque. He knew she wasn't physically changing, that she probably didn't put on any more makeup or had gotten her nose done or some crap. Yet every act that she did, every story he heard made her seem more retched and horrid each moment they meet.

Nevertheless, for now, he thankfully didn't have to look at her as he kept his eyes focused on the production in front of him. Roxy's recital was going perfectly and finally her solo had come up. She stood, her music becoming louder than everyone else's as they either faded away or proceeded into rhythmic background noise.

He wished Alastair could be there, partially so he could spend time with the other man but also because he loved the proud looks and small smiles that he always gave when around Roxy. It almost was like he was a different man, all sarcasm and clear distaste for everything gone from all expressions.

As James sat thought about this, he could only hear Roxy and the band, her solo slowly coming to an end and the entire band coming back, the smooth transition beautiful to the ears. When the concert finally ended with the last song of the night, parents and friends quickly stood up, the clapping becoming a soft roar.

Out of the corner of his eyes however, he noted how Alastair's mother simply gave a soft, dainty clap as her lips moved. James couldn't hear her but he knew what she'd said.

"She could have done better."

His hair stood on end and his hands paused in clapping to clench into fists, but he quickly calmed himself and then followed the family as they headed to wherever the children came out. It took some time but finally James could see Roxy's head weaving between the other kids. Whether she spotted James first or not, it was hard to tell, but she passed her mother's hands and jumped at James who just barely caught her.

"Woah there! I'd expect you to be tired after all that hard work you just did."

"I'll pass out later Uncle James," she said earnestly. "Right now I'm to hyper."

James swore that her mother's face twitched but she thankfully didn't say anything about the word 'uncle' as she got much to close and personal.

"Yes, well you shouldn't be jumping around," she said. "It's not very lady like. And that was the solo you've been practicing for?"

"Yes," Roxy replied, head held high.

"Hmm, I expected you to do better."

James almost slipped up but before he could say anything, Roxy was already defending herself just fine. "I reached the best of my ability with that solo. I'm perfectly happy with it."

James could see the mother on the edge of blowing up but before anything could happen, her eyes focused on something behind James and widened slightly. Roxy's eyes followed and James turned his head, for a moment shocked by what he saw.

On first glance he thought it was Alastair, which would have made zero sense, until he realized that this must have been his brother.

Slightly shorter, the brother was very similar to Alastair though where the Kingsman agent had developed leaner muscle, his brother was much more buff. They shared the same nose and lip shape, even the same hair color though Alastair's eyes were a lighter shade than his brother's.

Before James could realize what was happening, Roxy was leaping from his arms and tackling Kenton to the ground. Though she couldn't really knock him over, Kenton pretended to release a wounded cry and fell backwards as Roxy hugged him like there was no tomorrow.

"Roxanne! Stop that immediately!"

James had to give the kid kudos, she completely ignored her mother as she buried her head in her brother's chest. Then she was suddenly jumping up, grabbing his hand, and dragging him towards James.

"Uncle James, this is my brother Kenton. Kenton, this is James," she said quickly, forcing their hands together into a quick shake before either could actually do so themselves.

Giving James a curious but friendly look, Kenton said, "Uncle? Did Aunt Marie finally get married? I knew that lady was a cougar."

James blushed, letting out a small snort, the father chuckling as well as Roxy quickly shook her head despite smiling. The mother didn't look very pleased but for once nobody else seemed to care.

"He's Alastair's best friend," Roxy supplied. "I was going to call him brother but I have to many. Uncle sounded better."

"Ah, that makes sense. So, you're standing in for my brother then?"

"I suppose you could say that though if he was here I would have come anyways," James replied with an easy smile.

"Alastair doesn't like music," the mother suddenly spat out.

"And yet he would have come if he'd been able to get away from work," James said just as quickly. "He hates the heat but if Roxy moved to the Caribbean he'd visit her every possible moment he had."

Looking like she was ready to strangle him, yet somehow hiding it behind a polite exterior, Kenton suddenly interjected with, "Well anyways, sorry for coming home a day early but I wanted to surprise you. Still, I'm only here for five days, including today, so I wanted to make the most of them. How about I take Roxy out for a treat?"

"Five days! What about Christmas?" asked the mother.

"Couldn't get time off."

"But that's two Christmases in a row!"

"And I'm sure there are men and women who have gone longer without seeing their families. It's the military. I can't leave just because I want to," Kenton responded. "So sis, how does ice cream sound?"

"Great!"

"Cool, I'll get her back home soon mother."

They talked like any argument or anger that was trying to come out of the mother's lips wasn't there. Unlike Alastair who daintily stepped around her, Kenton was acting much more like Roxy in just completely ignoring her.

"But she can't have ice cream. She hasn't had dinner yet," she tried.

"Then I'll take her out to dinner. I'll see you all later," Kenton said, clearly showing that the invitation wasn't extended towards his parents.

Though James couldn't blame the brother's quick getaway, before he could come up with his own excuse to leave, Kenton quickly added, "You should come to James. I want to hear how my brother has been doing."

"And what about your parents?" asked the mother sternly.

"I'll catch up with you both later. I promise I'll stop by before I leave don't worry, but tonight is kids slash honorary uncles night."

"I suppose I'll have to come if it's honorary uncles night," James responded with a grin. With that in mind, he quickly turned to the parents and putting on his best face, he added, "It was a lovely evening. I hope to see you two again."

"Of course," said the mother quickly. "We loved having you accompanying us."

James shot them another smile and then quickly turned away and followed Roxy and Kenton. It wasn't until they were outside that he finally got the chance to speak again.

"Um, thank you for inviting me but are you sure you don't want to spend the night with just your sister? I mean, from my understanding it's been some time since you've seen each other and you're only here for five days," said James as they paused in the parking lot.

"Hey, I may have been helping you escape but it was a real invitation. I mean, my brother has a best friend and he hasn't mentioned you at all. I simply must know more," Kenton replied with a grin.

"Wait, escape? You knew that I was hoping to follow right after you?"

"Of course! No sane person would want to spend more time with my parents than necessary. So, any preferences on where we eat?"

James turned to look at Roxy as he replied, "I think you deserve to choose since you did all the hard work for the evening."

Showing off a grin, Roxy quickly said the name of a restaurant. As Kenton nodded with approval, he said, "You have a car?"

"Yes," replied James.

"You drive us there and I'm buying."

Chuckling at that, James responded, "You have yourself a deal."