"You about ready, luv?" Eggsy asked with a charming smile as he pull his dark gray jacket to place atop his broad shoulders.

Simply saying that you loved that fucking cheeky smile of his wouldn't have even started to cover it. To be fair though, there wasn't really much about him you didn't admire… Yet, you hadn't told him that had you?

No, you hadn't said those three words to a soul. Ever. Sometimes you wondered why you couldn't say it or why you couldn't feel it… but most days you already knew the answer: because love was fucking terrifying and saying it— made it real.

There was that one part of you though that used to think that maybe you could never actually love anyone as dramatic as that sounds. And for awhile there you wouldn't let yourself even try. After years of this, you started to think that maybe you were supposed to be alone. That maybe you didn't have that other half people always talked about…

But then you met Eggsy.

He showed you that there was more to your life than just living and he made that life worth fighting for. Even that first day you met him, you knew he was a rare kinda human. Maybe you didn't know the extent of it, but you felt something… something low and cogent. Something you hadn't felt in years and by the look he sent you— he had felt it too.

The last nine months with him tumbled by, and fucking hell if you didn't fall hard.

Being in love with a man like Eggsy was incredible, but it was also frightening… It may have been easy to pretend your feelings weren't dangerous, but you both knew the risks when you started this and no amount of denial could hide the truth: That you two were on borrowed time.

Now that you thought about it, it was probably that fear that kept you from saying it out loud...

Or maybe you just didn't want to jeopardize what you had with words you'd surely choke on while saying.

"Of course, I am babe." You said back slyly, pulling his chin towards you for a kiss as you place a playful pat on his behind while he pass. Reminding yourself that you could figure out that depressing shit later…

Merlin cleared his throat rather awkwardly before speaking as he entered the room; holding a clipboard in one hand, his wrist in the other. "If you two are quite finished…"

In that moment he sounded more irritated than he was and sent you both a soft smile. "Now, I'll give a full debrief on the way, but what you need to know now is simple: You two get in, you get out and then you blow the bitch… Quickly. Artemis is not there, but you can bet his men will be. Time is of the essence here, Galahad… Tristan."

"I've done it before, yeah?" Eggsy replied with slight sarcasm as fasten the first two buttons of his jacket with a brow raised teasingly.

"Just because you've done it before, doesn't mean you'll do it again. Don't underestimate your enemy. Ever." When Merlin finished, he put a hand on Eggsy's shoulder; his own tone hadn't been as playful and you noticed he ended rather somberly.

You knew then that Merlin was talking about Harry Hart. You didn't know the previous Galahad just like you hadn't known the previous Tristan… They both had died before you became a Kingsman and you and Eggsy owed your positions to those deaths as awful as it sounds. That was sort of just the way the Kingsman worked though.

Only, things were a little different between Eggsy and Harry you began to realize. It got to the point that you'd heard so much about the man, that you felt like you knew him yourself. There were even times where it made you sad to think how you never would.

Times like now… where you had to see the man you'd grow to cherish wearing the face he did.

It twisted your stomach into knots when you thought of how Eggsy must have felt that night, but you both knew Merlin had a point in reminding him. Anything could happen at anytime; you were never really safe from danger... even when you were.

You hadn't failed to notice the look he continued wearing and in that moment you wanted nothing more than to hold him. But Merlin was there and the mission was a go— so these signs of affection you almost desperately craved could wait.

But… he knew you cared about him, didn't he?

Eggsy nodded to his feet then cleared his throat before talking again this time with more confidence in his voice. "We got it, Merlin." He tapped his watch to the palm of his other hand a few times before placing it on his wrist. "Just like you said: In n' out… Plus, my girl's the best at what she does ain't ya, luv?" Eggsy smiled at you sweetly, but you could tell he was still feeling anxious.

He didn't like talking about Harry anymore than you liked how it made him feel; but he had recovered quickly, pressing a kiss to your cheek before turning to load up on other essentials.

You saw the look that Merlin sent you as Eggsy passed though and didn't like the way it felt low in your stomach… It was almost like he was trying to tell you something. But what?

The ride to the bunker had been quiet aside from Merlin's final debriefing in your ear. You sat holding Eggsy's hand in your lap reading the face he wore like a book you had memorized. Most days Eggsy seemed well adjusted to the loss— as much as could be expected after seeing your mentor murdered, that is… but you could see his face now, and you knew what it meant.

Eggsy leaned his cheek to your shoulder after kissing your neck softly. You smiled to yourself as you slid a hand through the side of his hair; scratching his scalp softly. He let a soft purr escape and you couldn't help but laugh as he lean his head further into your grasp with eyes closed.

After a moment you placed your lips to his head, hoping he'd understand what you meant to say… The look he sent you proved he had and before your drop he kissed you again. Firm yet tender…strong and passionate.

Like it might be the last time he would have the chance to do it, and that scared the fucking shit out of you.

Except you couldn't worry about that kiss or what it meant then… You had a mission and the mission had to come first. As you made your way past guards and security systems alike you couldn't stop thinking about it though. You couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to it this job, more to that kiss… more to this all.

Was there something you didn't know? Why was he so… afraid?

If anything was bothering him still however, he had done his very best to hide it from you. You had to give it to him, he really was good at compartmentalizing as terrible as that sounds. Eggsy just knew how to turn off emotion when he needed to, something you weren't as good at…

Your thoughts were so insistent that it took everything you had to stop thinking them and felt yourself growing annoyed at your lack of control. You could think of emotions later, now was the time to get through this…

Get in. Get out. Blow the bitch.

The systems thus far hadn't been difficult, especially for someone as skilled as you were. Eggsy may have liked bragging about you but he was actually kinda right: you really were the best at what you did.

That paired with the fluidity of your fighting? Well, let's just say the two of you were a fucking force of nature. Each punch and kick perfectly framing each other as you fight alongside dismembering each body that stood in your way with ease.

Thinking back on it now, you'd always been an excellent team. Even that first group exercise during recruitment you had the kind of chemistry people trained years to perfect.

"Uh, luv? If you got a moment, I could use a bit a help." Eggsy called lightly from down the hall as he throw a lighter grenade into several men, their pieces flying which way accordingly.

Thankfully he brought that damn umbrella; managing to open it before he was completely covered in a warm spray of blood and guts.

"You finally learn from the last time?" You yelled back with a laugh, remembering the time he in fact hadn't been so quick to cover. But by the looks of it, he really could use your help.

At this point you two were hold up by Artemis' office, deep in the maze of a bunker. You inside hacking the computer with Eggsy down the hall keeping you safe and undisturbed. It's been about seven minutes of you trying to decrypt this damn thing, and your patience was running out.

For being the best you sure were taking your sweet time and before long Eggsy's eyes begged you to hurry it up.

Artemis had more men than Merlin anticipated and his security measures in this half of the bunker were at least triple the strength of the others. It wasn't that you couldn't handle it, of course you could… But as the minutes trickle on, and the bodies keep piling you started to feel strange, like something wasn't right.

"Babe, not tryna pressure you, but things are gettin' a little tight round here. Seems a bit like a trap, don'it?" You could hear the apprehension lining his words, and you'd be lying if you denied having the same thought only moments before. "Let's just forget bout it… Blow the place and scram."

After a deep swallow you replied, still clicking away as best you could trying to get something— anything off of this fucking computer. It really bothered you to leave a job undone, but sometimes you knew you had to cut your loses and get the fuck out of Dodge.

"I was gonna say the same thing. This…" You stopped with voice trailing off as you scanned the screen before you, confusion spreading around you like quicksand.

What the hell? It… this firewall... it's changing…

"Wha's that?" Eggsy called after emptying another clip with ease, putting those years of gymnastic training to use as he dodge bullet and blunt object alike.

"I-I don't know..." You stumble with nerves bubbling hot, your fingers sliding like spiders across the keys as you fight for control with the system. "S-somethings happening… It's like— I don't know, it's like… i-it's learning or something—" Now your pulse was raising to match the height of your tone, the real pang of fear settling in around you.

You knew how crazy it sounded, but you had never seen anything like this before… The system itself seemed alive somehow…

Like it was one step ahead of you from the very beginning, only you just now realized it. Then before your very eyes the numbers and letters shifted, changing into a little red dragon that began flapping its 8 bit wings excitedly.

"Eggy… We need to leave. Now!" You screamed sending your eyes towards him as you hear Merlin through your comms.

"Galahad! Tristan! Get out of there, no—"

You looked up to meet Eggsy's gaze, suddenly feeling the weight of dismay pressing harder against your chest. So hard you almost couldn't breathe, like the time you were caught in the undertow of the ocean, floating and smashing into the hard sand unable to find the air your lungs screamed for…

The face he sent you was stone and almost expressionless, if not for the terror that you could see poisoning his azure gaze.

You swallowed as he turned and began running down the hallway towards you, faster than you'd ever seen him run before. Each of his rushed footsteps fell heavy and echoed the chamber of the hallway separating you loudly.

The moment Merlin cut out, you had tried to run to him… the exact second Eggsy looked at you, you were jumping over the desk knocking each trinket lining it about in a crescendo of clatter.

But you weren't fast enough…

Eggsy yelled your name as the door slammed shut, bolting several locks along the edges tightly.

There was something jarring about the way he called your name though and no matter how many names you yelled or how hard you pounded... nothing helped.

You were alone.

Now as the room fill with a olive green gas you think about that kiss… You think about how you'd never told him how much you loved him… How you always just assumed he knew.

And now, you can't stop thinking about how you were going to die in this room...