A/N: This is the first story I've ever posted, so hopefully you all like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The first thing Eggsy noticed as he stepped into the hallway on his way out of the tram was the distinct and delicious smell of syrup and cooking bacon. His confusion grew as the smell grew stronger the closer he got to the control room, the enticing scent beckoning as he punched in his pass code. The doors slid open and there stood Elaine, her brown hair gathered into a loose bun with a few strands framing her freckled face, in a white button up with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Cooking. She looked up from the table she had set up in the corner of the room, an electric griddle sizzling with bacon and pancakes and a propane camp stove with a pot of a boiling substance in front of her, and smiled at him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Oh, good morning Eggsy!" she greeted cheerily, her emerald eyes shining.

"Uh," was all he could manage to get out before Merlin strode in from behind him.

"How are the blueberries coming along? Oh, good morning Eggsy," he said with a smile. A real, actual smile. Eggsy's eyebrows knitted together in genuine concern. He watched as Merlin stepped around the table, peering into the pot with an approving nod before picking up a spoon, adding a dash of sugar, and stirring what Eggsy could only assume were blueberries.

"The hell is going on?" he asked when he finally found his voice.

Elaine looked over to him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's Sunday," she explained as if it should answer and and all of his questions. He looked helplessly to Merlin who only nodded, as if her answer was sufficient to clear any former confusion. Eggsy opened his mouth in preparation to explain how her response did none of that when the door once again slid open. Harry walked in, breathing deeply in approval.

"Ah, is it Sunday already?" he asked with a grin. Elaine and Merlin nodded happily as she flipped the pancakes and he continued to stir the pot of blueberries. Roxy followed behind him, the look on her face mirroring Eggsy's. She looked at him questioningly.

"It's Sunday," he said with a shrug, giving up on any real explanation entirely. She raised an eyebrow and he simply shook his head, walking over to plop down rather unceremoniously in the center chair of the control desk. He continued to observe the sight in front of him, and, since freeing himself from the confines of confusion in its purest form, found himself smiling. It was as if no time had passed between the three of them at all, and he admired the ease at which they seemed to fall back into sync. Elaine and Merlin laughed as they worked, Harry snuck bits of finished bacon when he thought they weren't looking, and Elaine swatted at him with a spatula as he grinned and scurried away to avoid any grease stains on his perfectly tailored jacket. He came over to stand between Eggsy and Roxy; his eyes alight with laughter as he joined them in observing the pair of chefs. Elaine nudged Merlin with her elbow, and in response he rather uncharacteristically dipped his finger in the pot and smudged her cheek with blueberry juice causing an explosion of laughter between the two of them. Eggsy couldn't help but feel as if he didn't know the man at all. Harry looked over and seemed to recognize the thought running through the younger man's mind.

"You're seeing a rather rare side of Merlin, you know," he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "A side of him I myself never thought I would see again."

"It's her, innit?" he asked without taking his eyes off them. Harry nodded.

"Yes, she always brought out the best in him. Reminded him it was okay to laugh from time to time. A miracle he hasn't gone mad in her absence."

Eggsy couldn't help but agree. Merlin seemed to do as his name would suggest and had grown younger right before his eyes. He no longer seemed to carry the world on his shoulders, holding himself instead with an air of ease. His smile came easily, his laughter was full and contagious, and Eggsy found himself secretly hoping Elaine wouldn't return to the Pacific for Merlin's sake. In the time of the previous Arthur, her and a small group of agents had been tasked to operate out of Tokyo in counterintelligence operations. In the wake of V-day, all agents operating overseas had been recalled since HQ would need all the help they could get putting the pieces back together. Now that Harry had taken over as Arthur, he was sure that was enough time to convince her to stay. From the way she looked at Merlin, he hoped he wouldn't have to. He would miss her stories about the misadventures of a young Harry and less patient Merlin, and he was certain Roxy would miss having another woman around. Being a woman in a secret service founded by men could be difficult at times, though she would never show it, and she had begun to rely on Elaine's expertise. A ringing bell pulled him out of his trance, and he blinked a few times to rid his eyes of dryness as the image of Elaine holding up a triangle came into focus.

"Breakfast is ready!" she announced happily. Her smile quickly faded as Eggsy and Roxy simply looked at each other. She looked between Harry and Merlin disapprovingly. "You didn't tell them about Sunday breakfast did you?"

"There wasn't exactly any time," Merlin said with a shrug.

"Between saving the world and all that," Harry added nonchalantly. She sighed as if that were hardly an excuse to forget about Sunday breakfast, but nodded, moving around the table to drag Eggsy out of his chair and link her arm through Roxy's.

"Then let me explain." She said, her smile returning.

"Finally," Eggsy sighed, earning him a laugh.

"You two are in for a treat," Elaine said as she led them to the table, handing out plates and moving to pour glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Merlin came to stand next to Harry as the two newest members got their first real taste of being a Kingsman when there wasn't a world to save.

"Good to have her back, isn't it?" Harry asked with a knowing smile.

"Aye, while it lasts." Merlin responded with an almost undetectable twinge of sadness.

Elaine looked over her shoulder to shoot him a dazzling smile as she topped Eggsy's unrealistically large stack of pancakes with blueberries, a trace of the sticky sweet compote still apparent on her cheek. Harry watched as any trace of melancholy melted from Merlin's face as he smiled back at her.

"Oh, something tells me it will." he said, almost to himself.

"Come on you two, or there won't be any left!" Elaine laughed as Eggsy voiced his approval through mouthfuls of pancake and bacon. Merlin turned to Harry as they moved toward the group.

"One can only hope." He said before turning his attention to the table of delicacies, halfheartedly chiding Eggsy for talking with his mouth full. Harry held back for a few moments to observe the rare moment of solace in the life of a spy and smiled contently.

"Indeed."