AN: Got time today to do this so here's another chapter! Proposal coming soon! :)

It had been a while since Alastair was forced onto a co-op mission and even longer since it had been someone other than James. This time (he was so definitely cursed) he was stuck with Harry in a rather small cabin in the middle of bloody nowhere.

For the moment, they were monitoring the movements of a man who was suspected to be using his charities as a front for slave trading. If they were right, then Alastair and Harry were meant to take him down immediately. For the moment, the man was at his personal home and the small cabin was the quickest thing they could come up with so that they could monitor him from a close enough distance.

They still hadn't gotten the chance to infiltrate the home.

Despite the uncomfortable situation, Alastair had to at least be grateful they weren't stuck in some damn tent. Especially seeing how it seemed to rain constantly, even sleeting a few times as the temperatures dropped.

Nevertheless, it had been a while since Alastair had some alone time with Harry and he had noticed the man had changed over the years. There were less pranks and stupid remarks and more attention on the job. He still had that cheeky grin that he'd sometimes show, making it seem like he most certainly knew something that no one else did, and he was still annoyingly perceptive. Still, it seemed with age had come a certain amount of wise, seriousness that he had not had in his younger years.

It was this, and only this, that pushed Alastair into starting up a conversation on one of the slow days. They were monitoring the hoard of guards that the man kept and looking for any possible openings in their oddly clockwork manner when Alastair made a comment that had Harry curiously turning to him.

"You're asking for my advice?" asked Harry, sounding genuinely amused by the prospect. "What about?"

"There's this…thing that James wants to do and I'm…not entirely sure what I think about it."

"What do you mean? I think you're going to have to give me something more specific than that if you really want my help," Harry replied.

Alastair sighed and shook his head, focusing more so on the men on the small cameras than the environment around him. He let out another sigh, glanced at Harry, and continued with, "I think James wants to get married," in a hurried rushed manner. His stomach involuntarily tightened at the thought, the feeling both good and bad.

"I would say that's a good thing but you don't exactly look pleased. Which, excuse me for saying so, but is rather confusing," responded Harry as he looked at Alastair in curiosity. "You say you 'think' he wants to get married?"

"Well he's dropped enough hints but I think he's afraid of outright saying it seeing as I haven't really been responsive to his comments."

"And why haven't you? If you don't wish to get married then that's completely up to you. Marriage isn't for everyone and simply because you are with someone long term does not mean you have to.

"True," muttered Alastair, "though if I'm being honest, I could care less about getting married but if James wants to then I would do it in a heartbeat. But there's just this…thing inside me that's not me, yet it twists into unpleasant shapes every time the thought of marriage crosses my mind."

"Well, whether you know it or not, that simply means that there is someone else's opinion that's influencing yours," Harry responded. "And very simply put, you can't allow that to happen."

"You're right, that is simple but it doesn't exactly help me. What do I do?" asked Alastair.

"Well you've already done the first part, acknowledging that it's there. Now, since you say you would do whatever James wanted, you ignore that thing inside you and just go through with what James wants. It may hurt; it may continue twisting inside you, tighter and tighter. You can't reason with this thing but neither can you except that it has any power over you. Push past it, allow it to shatter into a million pieces and even if a part of you wants to pick those up and put them back together, resist, and think about how happy you are. Because I am assuming that James makes you happy," Harry finished, looking for a reaction in Alastair.

"He does," Alastair agreed. He seemed thoughtful for a moment, then looking up curiously and commented, "It sounds as if you've given this speech to someone before. Or at least a version of it. Yourself perhaps?"

"Many times," Harry responded, not shrinking away or ignoring the accusation. Instead, he looked very certain of himself when he said it as he continued to look Alastair in the eyes. "Sometimes as much as twice a day."

Alastair looked curiously at Harry as an idea began to slowly formulate in his mind. He tried to ignore it though as the idea seemed silly and a rather odd conclusion that James would probably come too. Granted, James was usually right about such things which had Alastair glancing at Harry every few seconds. Nothing continued to happen on the screens and as Alastair began to think of ways that he could use brute force to get him and Harry in, he also allowed his mind to wonder to that other thought. That very curious and, the more he thought about it, obvious thought.

Finally, he turned to Harry as the other continued to do his own work and asked, "Is it Merlin?"

"It depends."

"On what?" asked Alastair incredulously.

"On whether or not you will take my advice."

Alastair hesitated as he realized he had used the thought, and his work, to distract himself from Harry's advice. Instead of lying, which he could have easily done, Alastair honestly thought about it before finally nodding. "Yes, I will."

"Good. In that case, it is Merlin."

"Christ I feel so idiotic now!" cried out Alastair as he rubbed his eyes. He let out a groan, part of him upset with himself for not seeing it, and asked, "Who else knows?"

"Merlin."

Alastair let out another groan as Harry gave him that sly smile that, if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't have even known it was there. "Besides him," Alastair growled out.

"You."

"Wait, is that seriously it? How have you kept it a secret this long?"

"Unlike James, I don't jump Merlin every chance I get."

"Hey, don't give me that look! It's not my fault that ass doesn't understand the idea of 'work enviroment'," growled out Alastair as he glared at Harry.

"Really? Because if Merlin told me the story correctly, then it was you who quite literally jumped him on Kingsman's front steps," Harry responded with mirth in his eyes. "Or did Merlin just make up that tale?"

Alastair crossed his arms and continued to glower at Harry as he muttered, "I thought he had died. Again! It was a very emotional time and I wasn't exactly thinking straight."

"I imagine so."

"Oh shut it!"

Harry let out a small chuckle as he turned back to his work. Alastair took a few more moments to simply glare at him until finally turning back to the monitors. After a few moments of silence, Alastair spoke. There was still a bit of bitterness in his voice to show that he was still irritated with Harry but otherwise he kept it very professional as he said, "If time was on our side, this wouldn't be an issue. However, we can't wait much longer simply for an opening. We have enough information to know the guy is dirty in something and if we use brute force, we'll finally get our answers."

"I was just coming to the same conclusion," responded Harry as he checked his gun. "If we go now we should be back in time for tea."

"If we go now, I'm not coming back to this blasted cabin again."

"Ah, and I thought we were bonding."

Alastair ignored that as he began to grab what was needed and put away what wasn't. Harry, thank god, stayed silent until they were both ready to leave and only then did he speak up again and said, "Just remember to invite me to the wedding."

"I'm not inviting you anywhere," Alastair responded as he took the lead, missing the smile that grew on Harry's face once more.