The autumn wind was blowing cold across the Scottish highlands.

Towering rock formations loomed on the edges of scrub and gorse and at the base of a rising wall of stone, a small cabin sat, weatherworn but tidy-looking. A few dozen yards in front of the cabin, a tall bald man in a neat sweater, precisely pressed slacks, a pair of thick-framed glasses, and an impeccably tied tie stood somewhat stiffly, looking out at his homeland.

"Merlin!" A young woman called from the door to the cabin, the wind catching her voice and pulling the name off into the grey sky. She had a pair of glasses not dissimilar to the man's and like him, was dressed impeccably in a neat suit. One arm was pulled loosely to her chest by a black sling, the other held an unusually thick clipboard. "Merlin!" she repeated and this time the man heard, turning cautiously and beginning to pick his way across the uneven ground, watching before he placed each footstep.

"Sorry to bother you," Roxy said when Merlin got within the last dozen feet to the doorway of his small home. "But Tequila called from London. They were able to move up the construction; the shop's ready for modifications to the dressing room plans and they want to know if you'll oversee, starting tomorrow if we can manage it. Also, Ginger Ale's sending a dozen more staff to help with the mansion. Erec is arranging living quarters for them."

Merlin nodded accepting his clipboard. "Good. If we can finish clearing out the rubble within the month, we should have the fleet and the rest of the rest of the estate service teams ready to work on the mansion. Ginger's staff can join them."

Roxy held the door open and Merlin entered, gingerly navigating the threshold; at least there were no steps in the house. That would be a problem when they got back to London the following day as his townhouse there certainly didn't have that convenience. He wasn't looking forwards to sleeping on his own sofa, but until he had a little more time and practice on the carbon fiber structures that now ended his legs or found the time to move- tricky, that, when there were so many problems to attend to and so many of the Kingsman staff in temporary housing- there would be no other choice. Entering the kitchen, Merlin found a seat at the table, Eggsy crossing from where he and Harry were debating the merits of eggs to slide a cup of Merlin's favored coffee in front of the handler.

"Thanks, Eggsy," Merlin said. "Are you all coming down to London? I was thinking I'd leave in a few hours, spend the night in the city, and be at Savile Row early tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Harry said. "We'll find a place to stay somewhere."

"There's room at mine for all ye besides me, if we sleep on chairs and floors like here, but that's not practical in the long term and we'll need to be at the top of our strength moving forward," Merlin said, taking a sip of the coffee and turning to his clipboard.

"I might spend a few nights with me mum and Daisy," Eggsy said. "The rubble where Harry's- my- house used to be might be almost clear, but there's nothing there now. It'll take time, with everything else being rebuilt too."

"Harry and I will stay with you, Merlin, if you truly don't mind," Roxy said. "I could always go out to my parents, but they're a bit too far from London for the convenience of a hotel and honestly, with all the questions, I'd rather not."

"Besides," Harry laughed, bringing over plates and setting the first in front of Roxy and passing the second to Merlin. "Ginger made us promise to look after you, as if you need proper looking after."

Merlin rolled his eyes, but he smiled fondly. "I don't mind, Roxy. I'll have to be down on the sofa, at any rate; I'm afraid the stairs might be too much."

Eggsy set down his fork. "I didn't think of that; will you move somewhere else?"

Merlin shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Not now, at least for the moment- there's too many other Kingsman staff we're trying to rehome right now. It'll be a problem, but one for the future."

All three of his coworkers nodded and a companionable silence descended as they ate.

When breakfast ended and Merlin took another moment to carefully stand and walk to the front door and out again onto the rocky ground of his homeland, Roxy, Harry, and Eggsy followed.

Merlin breathed in the cool air blowing around them; it smelled like greenery and dusty stone, like coffee and peppermint and roses, like the past and future together.

Merlin smiled. It smelled like hope.

And that's it! Thank you all for reading!