So That Went Well
Harry Hart learned something new about himself the following day. What did he learn? Why, that watching members of the Fae eat crow and grovel as much as a Fae could probably grovel to someone not their Queen gave Harry as much pleasure as some of the sex he'd had in the past. Not with Eggsy, of course, but still...mmm. Oh, so satisfying. Especially since he got to share it with Eggsy, Merlin and Kay, who got to equally enjoy it with him. Though that made it sound a little too much like a foursome, and no. Absolutely no.
Much better to concentrate on the fact that for the first time in Harry long life he was getting to watch as members of the Fae were forced to apologize to humans, speak to them as equals, AND gift those humans everything they requested as compensation without the Fae benefiting in any way from the deal. They were too scared of the consequences to even try and attach strings or fuck with them.
Kay was enjoying this even more than Harry was, Harry observed throughout the meeting, though you would have to know him to see beneath the cool veneer. Hopefully the same could be said about himself, especially since Merlin and Eggsy weren't really making any effort in that regard at all.
The Fae had screwed with Kingsman far too many times in the past for Harry to begrudge Merlin's enjoyment, even as he mentally winced while wondering if House Fray would try and punish them for this later.
Eggsy...well Eggsy was young and beautiful and his, so just let them try to mess with them again.
Or try to take him, since that bastard Lantis has sent a few sidelong looks in Eggsy's direction.
Though if he was being fair, looking at Eggsy meant looking at a very gorgeous man in a well-made suit, so who could blame a man for looking. Eggsy was always a pleasure to look at of course, even in his chav monstrosities, but in a suit he was especially delectable. The suit needed to be tailored to properly fit the younger man, yes, but it still fit him surprisingly well. Harry had quite enjoyed helping him get ready this morning...and looked forward to taking it off of him just as much this evening.
"You will have the required items within your possession in the next twenty-four hours. Again, House Fray apologies for the behavior and disrespect shown by one of our House." The Head of House Fray spoke the words stiffly, the look the woman aimed in the direction of Shion, who currently looked very much the worse for wear, making it clear that he would know her wrath for centuries to come for this.
Harry was fairly sure that the man's current injuries had been inflicted by members of the elf's own family and not the car he'd been blasted into.
Shoulders hunched in, trying to make himself seem as small as possible, Shion said nothing while Lantis winced ever so slightly as his brother's side. The other two elves in the room showed no hint of emotion. They hadn't introduced themselves or been introduced. Most likely they were present as security or witnesses. Or both.
It was petty, but if not for the possibility of future retribution Harry would have hoped that they weren't loyal to the family and spread tales of this to the other Houses.
"I trust that you will convey your satisfaction to House Farfadet."
"Once we have all promised to us." Harry agreed with a cold smile for the House Head. "I'm sure they will be grateful to know that there is no reason for conflict between your two Houses. Or with Kingsman."
The slightest incline of her head possible, then the woman turned her head to look in Eggsy's direction, her expression revealing nothing as she repeated the action. "Kin to House Farfadet. May we meet again under more pleasant circumstances."
Returning her barely noticeable nod, Eggsy lips curved into a sharp smile in turn. "Likewise."
A moment, then the woman seemed to think it safe to go back to ignoring Eggsy, which she had done for the majority of the negotiations. Between his mixed blood, the fact that he was nowhere near as magically Gifted as Harry and Kay, and the undeniable fact that they wouldn't be having this meeting if Eggsy hadn't been involved...
It would be best if she and Eggsy never met again.
Ergo, Harry had no problem with her now pretending that Eggsy didn't exist as they went through the motions of formal goodbyes, and then the elves disappeared from the meeting room between one blink and the next.
"Phew." Shoulders slump in relief, Eggsy turned to give them all questioning looks. "That went all right, right?"
"Better than we had any right to hope for." Kay informed him with a head shake of disbelief. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. I had no idea House Farfadet had this kind of power among the Houses. Theirs must be a shadow power."
"Or perhaps they're a power that only shows it when crossed." Harry suggested thoughtfully, leaning against the conference table now that there was no need to be formal. "So when they speak up the others pay attention."
Merlin shook his head. "Well, I won't believe it was all that easy until everything they promised is in our hands and they aren't declaring war on us."
"True." Kay agreed.
"So now wot?"
"Now you and I go and pick out some power sharing bracelets." Harry informed him, straightening up while tugging his left sleeve back down into place. "Kay, Merlin, thank you both for your assistance in this matter. Even with House Farfadet's help we couldn't have done this without you."
Merlin smiled while Kay looked surprised, but pleased. In his restrained, British way.
"And ta thank ya both I made ya treats this morning."
Of course that would make Merlin's day even more than pulling one over on the Fae, Harry mused as he looked at his beaming friend as the Scotsman immediately came over to get his treats, Kay not far behind him.
Well aware of what Eggsy had made Harry watched in amusement as Merlin rhapsodized over the very delicious looking iced chocolate and walnut brownies, each man getting their own batch container to keep the peace. In his head Harry imagined the carnage that would have ensued had Merlin been expected to share his treats or evenly divide them with Kay. Kay would win normally, but for Eggsy's food Merlin would fight dirty.
Eggsy was turning them all into gluttons. It was hard to blame them.
Shaking his head Harry waited the three of them out, then collected Eggsy so that they could head to Kingsman Headquarters to visit the vault where the power sharing bracelets, along with other magically enhanced jewelry and accessories, were kept.
As they walked Eggsy lightly hip checked Harry to get his attention, waiting until Harry looked at him to grin evilly.
"So...was that good for you too?"
Laughing, Harry grinned back just as rakishly as he leaned down to whisper in Eggsy's ear that yes, that had been very good indeed. Just not as good as him.
"Well I should bloody well hope not."
"You can remind me later, if you like."
Eggsy heaved a great, very dramatic fake sigh. "You're too good to me, Harry."
"I'll be very good to you. Later."
"I'm holding you to that."
And Eggsy took Harry's hand, giving it a little swing as they continued on their way.
They hadn't gone far though before Harry noted that Eggsy was giving him looks out of the corner of his eye. Like he was debating asking him something, but kept talking himself out of it.
"Just ask."
Eggsy stayed quiet for another minute, choosing his words. "Wot ya gonna do bout your mum? I mean you really raked them elves over the coals and-"
"You're worried I'll do the same to her." Harry supplied, inclining his head in understanding.
Harry heaved a long, hard sigh over the mess still to deal with. Aka his mother. Part of the agreement with the Fae was that they would leave her punishment up to him, rather than risk them taking their frustration and hatred out on her.
Even if this whole mess was largely her fault.
"Honestly...I don't know. With the Fae it was easy. Even if my mother didn't tell Shion who her son was, he would have known by the level of protection around my home that I was Kingsman. It was probably one of the main reasons he let my mother convince him to mess with the shields in the first place. A fuck you to our organization. Something to brag about to his family and friends and an insult to us, even if we didn't know who was doing it. He knew the consequences of getting caught, knew the level of threats faced by a Kingsman left vulnerable to attack. He played, now he pays."
"But you said your mum didn't. That she wouldn't have realized wot sort of dangerous she was puttin you in."
"Exactly. And I didn't clue her in either, which is on me. But how long do you overlook a grown adult's behavior simply because they have the emotional maturity and common sense of a child?"
Eggsy didn't have an answer, nor did Harry.
"Her world has and likely will always revolve around her. How she sees the world-she doesn't accept blame for her own mistakes and bad behavior. She thinks always short term, never long. And I don't see that changing. It's like in the parenting books I read."
"You did?"
"I did." And had been horribly traumatized, not to mention made so grateful he had Eggsy there was no words. "And in a number of the books they talked about giving children a time out and how you wait until they're around two so that they can make the connection between misbehavior and being punished for it. And you can only do it for a few minutes or they'll forget why they're in time out in the first place. When it comes to my mother...I don't think she can make the connection. Or at least not long term. Because after it's 'over' she'll just re-write it all in her head so she's the victim. It's what she does."
"So, for now we're ignoring her until she understands she's been sent ta the corner?"
"Until I come up with something else that I'm willing to do to a senior citizen who is also my mother, yes."
Another long, thoughtful pause.
"Well, calling her a senior citizen to her face would be a start."
Laughing, Harry squeezed Eggsy's hand again.
Thank all the Gods. Thank all the Gods and Goddesses for Eggsy.
)
"Fuck. I really don't want ta know what all this bling in here is worth. Friggin A, the money I could have made-Holy shite, Harry! Look at the size of that rock over there! Who would even wear that fucking thing? You wouldn't be able ta lift your hand up, wearing that round your soon to snap like a twig finger. Plus, the whole thing is dead ugly, just saying. Also why is it in a special case and the rest of this stuff is just lying around on tables or in them shelves?"
Head whipping all around as Eggsy tried to take in everything at once, Harry just trailed slightly behind and enjoyed the spectacle along with Norman, the man in charge of looking after this particular vault.
"That particular ring has powers we have yet to understand. It's only being kept in here temporarily, while the vault next door is having its wards adjusted to accommodate its presence. They tried earlier and the ring made its displeasure known rather quickly." Norman explained with a patient, kindly expression on his face. Apparently Eggsy reminded him of his grandson, so the two were already getting along like a house on fire.
"Gotcha. Given it a wide berth, then. No nicking that one." Eggsy held both hands up like he was being arrested, grinning impishly.
"No nicking anything, given the wards also in this room." Harry teased back, smiling to make the teasing clear.
"The bracelets are over there, Sir. I assumed you would only be interested in our best."
"You would be correct."
Eggsy dropped one hand while raising the other. "Question, seeing as we're on the topic anyway. How easy are these things ta remove? Since they're magic, I mean. Cause if I'm in trouble odds are I'm in my old neighborhood, and any of them sees me sporting serious bling they're coming for it. And whacking my arm off with a saw or somethin if that's what it takes ta get it off me."
"You would not react well if I said you are never going back to your old neighborhood without me again, would you?"
"My mates are there." Eggsy said with a shrug.
Mentally cursing that fact Harry sighed. "The bracelets can be camouflaged so that they appear simple and not worth stealing."
Eggsy gave him a look that said their definition of simple and worth stealing probably differed. A lot.
Which was fair, Harry silently acknowledged as he motioned for Eggsy to follow Norman regardless. And something else for him to worry about. Joy.
But he could enjoy Eggsy's fascination and childlike wonder over the treasure trove of items around them. Thus far Eggsy had taken Harry's edict not to touch anything without permission seriously, and hopefully that would continue so that he didn't have to play hero.
Though you couldn't see them, there were in fact protective wards and shields around the tables and shelves. They were just invisible to the human eye. He'd teach Eggsy how to spot them another time, when they weren't going to get in other people's way.
Unfortunately, they were having to do a complete inventory of their magical items due to a recent discovery that Harry's predecessor had helped himself to some of them, replacing the originals with very well-made fakes. An agent had almost lost his life a week before Eggsy and Daisy had come to live with Harry because of it. Evaluating all the pieces was slow going, especially since they'd discovered that many of the forgeries did have magical properties-just not the ones they'd previously been documented as possessing. It was proving to be slow, tedious work, especially since only those Norman trusted implicitly were part of the team doing the appraisals. King couldn't have taken as much as he did without inside help, after all, and they still hadn't found all the man's accomplices. Perhaps never would.
Chester King had been very, very good at using others. Often without them knowing it.
His Fae heritage shining through, Harry thought darkly.
The vault they were in had currently been emptied out save for Norman for this visit, but Harry wasn't going to keep the other staff from coming back to do their job longer than necessary.
He hadn't wanted them campaigning for Eggsy's treats like other departments they'd visited.
"All these have been evaluated and confirmed to be genuine and in working order?" Harry asked as they arrived at their destination.
The two tables in question had borders around it to encircle the bracelets inside, hiding them from view until the three of them were standing over them. Not that they could see what was inside clearly though. No, the shields and wardings around them distorted the viewing, taunting any thieves with the fact that they couldn't know, until they'd done the work, if they were even getting the prize they sought.
"They have, Sir. By me, personally." Norman assured him with a nod before turning to look over the bracelets like a doting parent. "If I might make a suggestion, Gentlemen?"
"Sure." Eggsy told him, while Harry echoed the sentiment with a nod to go ahead.
"I would suggest that Mr. Unwin pick each one up in turn and see which ones respond best to him. His Gift isn't as strong as yours, Sir, so finding one that will aid him in calling up your power would be most beneficial."
"Wot ya mean, respond ta me?"
"Just as the wand can choose the wizard-"
"You're a 'Harry Potter' fan!"
Norman smiled and inclined his head. "You won't send things hurling through the air or exploding, but you should feel a warmth or comfort if any of the magic placed upon these bracelets feels a resonance with you. Keep in mind though that just because it reacts well to you doesn't mean its twin will respond well to Arthur, so we'll see what happens. We can recalibrate and make alterations if needed."
Eggsy gave Norman a thumbs up and stated he understood.
Nodding, Norman laid his hands above the cases and told them to give him a couple minutes, the wards and protective spells requiring his full attention.
The barriers became apparent as Norman murmured the correct disarmaments, Eggsy watching with fascination while Harry studied the process approvingly. Norman was one of their most valued for a reason. It would have taken Harry four times as long to take the barriers down-if he knew all the hidden tricks and traps ahead of time. Without that knowledge...hard to say.
Stepping back once he was done, Norman told Eggsy to give them a look see now that they were revealed in all their glory.
"Fuck. That's some serious hardware. Harry...ain't there anything-"
"We are getting the best Kingsman has to offer." Harry told him, making sure to convey with his tone and stare that there'd be no arguing about this. He wanted his lover protected to the best of Kingsman's ability. Short of wrapping the man up in protective spells and never letting him leave the house. Even with bodyguards.
Rolling his eyes as only someone who was still close to his teenage years could do, Eggsy shook his head and then looked back at the tables' contents with a rueful look.
"The irony that I would have once given up my winged shoes for a handful of these is not lost on me."