The rest of the night passed painfully for Harry. He sought sleep if only just so that he didn't have to be alone with his own thoughts but his thoughts persisted to keep him awake, not to mention that even when he was drifting off, he had one ear out for the sound of Eggsy returning to the room. But Eggsy didn't return all night and eventually Harry drifted off to an unpleasant and broken sleep.

Harry didn't know what to feel. He knew that he was conflicted; he felt at the same time elated at Eggy's having feelings for him and embarrassed that he wanted it. He wondered why these feelings had come out of nowhere and yet as soon as that thought occurred to him, he knew that these feelings DIDN'T come out of nowhere. Maybe he didn't feel them as strongly or obviously as he did now but it had always been there. He'd always cared more, always went out of his way more for Eggsy…Eggsy had always MEANT more than anyone else…and while Harry had recognized in himself a deep need to protect and care for the boy like he hadn't with other recruits, he hadn't recognized that his feelings had gone deeper than that.

After what felt like hours of personal introspection, Harry was overwhelmed by a punch of guilt. As confused as he was that didn't excuse his letting Eggsy run out of the room with that look on his face. Fear and confusion etched across Eggsy's face played over and over again in his mind. When he had called out Eggsy's name, he knew he had been caught and that had obviously scared him. But why did it? Why, if Eggsy really had feelings for Harry, did he run the moment when Harry had come to recognize it? The answer was simple; he feared that Harry would not return those feelings. And rather than go running after Eggsy and telling him it was okay, he'd stayed in the room like a coward and let Eggsy run off to who knew where.

When Harry realized that he had fallen asleep and it was now early morning, he felt terrible. Eggsy's bed was still painfully empty and didn't show any signs that Eggsy had been back all night. Feeling sick to his stomach and knowing that he had to do something but not knowing what, Harry quickly dressed and went in search of Eggsy.

Luckily for Harry, he didn't have to look long for Eggsy. He found him in the hotel's breakfast area, sitting at a table by himself drinking a mimosa and eating nothing. Surrounded by laughing and happy families when he was so morosely gazing out the window, still in pajamas, drinking the only alcoholic beverage available at 7:00 am, Harry felt his stomach twist with guilt. He looked so young, so innocent and so hurt…..Harry felt terrible for putting that pain there and yet he still felt a burning pang of desire at Eggsy's blameless beauty. Gathering up courage, Harry walked across the room, unnerved by the commonness of all the others having continental breakfast when he felt his life was unraveling and sat down at the table across from Eggsy.

Eggsy was staring bleary eyed out the window at the bland landscape of the hotel's parking lot but he surprisingly looked at Harry as he sat down. His eyes were red and tired but he gave Harry a weary, familiar smile.

"Guess it's time to get working…I lost track of time" Eggsy said ironically, trying to sound so normal.

The normalcy of this and Eggsy's complete avoidance of what had happened made Harry feel like he had been punched in the stomach.

"Eggsy…..aren't we going to talk about this?" Harry asked. He was surprised that his voice sounded so calm when he felt like he was going mad. In the back of his mind he begged Eggsy to talk to him…..to tell him something about what was going on. Harry wanted to know that he hadn't ruined this entirely.

Eggsy wouldn't look at him but stared defiantly at his glass, with that characteristic cheeky grin. "Ain't nothin' to talk about" he said gruffly, his accent getting heavier like it always did when he was more emotional. He was sure that Eggsy didn't realize this but Harry noticed it. It seemed he noticed a million little things about Eggsy…

But Eggsy's willingness to brush off the incident when he was clearly upset and Harry was willing to talk angered Harry. "That's the way it's going to be, Eggsy?" Harry asked exasperatedly. "You're not going to say anything about last night?"

This time Eggsy did look at him, but he was giving him that infuriating, insolent grin that made him look like a bratty child but also somehow made Harry feel hot around the collar. "Like I said…'nuffin' to talk 'bout" he said, every word dripping contempt but Harry knew better.

"Don't do this, Eggsy!" Harry burst out, his fist pounding the table. His voice was so startling loud that several tables of people turned around and glared at him. His cheeks were burning with embarrassment and he sunk down into his chair as Eggsy leaned forward and glared at him. He gave Harry a look that was so cold that it startled him coming from Eggsy.

"We're not doing this…..we have work to do. A Kingsman always puts his feelings behind him, right?" Eggsy asked violently, practically spitting his words.

There was so much anger in Eggsy's face that Harry knew it had to be covering up pain; Eggsy was not that cold and unfeeling, especially considering the words he had been singing in the night to Harry. But it still hurt…Eggsy's words and tone suggested that Harry was the one that had taught him that Kingsmen always put their feelings behind them and, worst, it almost implied that Eggsy thought Harry thought he shouldn't HAVE feelings.

Harry tried to say something but Eggsy was too fast this time; he was half way across the room when Harry got up out of his chair. He wasn't going to let Eggsy walk off this time like he did last night. He was stopped though when, half way across the room, Eggsy turned around and said, "Don't follow me"

His tone was so resolute so tough, so hurt…..Harry was sure that he could see the pain in his eyes and nearly everyone in the room turned toward him or at least looked at him he was so obviously upset. Instead of saying 'fuck it' and following Eggsy anyway, Harry felt himself listening to Eggsy's words and simply stalling in the middle of the room, watching him disappear as everyone else in the room watched his face cave in despair and tried to pretend they didn't notice.

…..

The rest of the day was uncomfortable but Harry did his best to be professional. Their mission was nearly over except for some concluding interviews and paperwork and it was easy to work on their own without having to say much; Harry knew that no matter how quiet and mannerly they were in the day, they still would have to spend one more night together before going home and it was his only hope for making this better. It was so painful for Harry to watch Eggsy working away alone, intentionally keeping his eyes on his work and avoiding Harry but he knew better than to try and engage him about their personal problems during work. He had trained Eggsy after all…..perhaps too well…..

After work, Eggsy quickly disappeared and Harry had nothing left to do but to fend for himself. He wasn't proud of it but he ended his night at the hotel restaurant amid cheap fatty foods and too many cocktails in an effort to not think about Eggsy. He even tried to do as Eggsy had suggested the night before and find a good looking women and 'buy her a drink' but even this he couldn't do…..he kept thinking about how Eggsy had suggested this last night and then he was focused on how painful it must have been for him to do so. After that, needless to say, Harry couldn't focus on finding a meaningless one night stand which he'd never had the taste for it much less at such a vulnerable moment, and paid his tab so he could go back upstairs and pass out.

When Harry made it upstairs, he was startled and surprised to find that Eggsy was already there. He was curled up in his own bed, just as he had been last night, just as if nothing had ever happened. But unlike the previous night, instead of Eggy's face looking innocently calm and relaxed, a troubled frown creased his face even in sleep. The disgusting food in Harry's stomach churned painfully; he couldn't bear the thought that he had put that look and the feelings behind it there though he by no means was going to let it end there.

Harry didn't know what to do though…despite the pain of the remark, Eggsy did have a point earlier when he commented that Kingsmen always hid their feelings. Harry had been so immersed in his work and subsequently avoiding his own personal feelings for so long that he didn't exactly know how to make it right…..It wasn't that he didn't have relationships but romantic relationships specifically were so rare for him that he froze by Eggsy's beside for several minutes trying to figure out exactly how to make things better with Eggsy. Unsurprisingly, it was Eggsy who eventually showed him what to do. As much as Eggsy claimed he had learned from Harry about the work they did, Harry had learned just as much about emotions and just pure human goodness from Eggsy.

Recalling the sound of Eggsy's singing voice and the look of pure vulnerability when he had been singing, Harry knew instantly what he had to do. Sitting down on the bed next to Eggsy's sleeping side, Harry took a deep breath before beginning to sing the same song Eggsy had sang to him, feeling the same meaning behind the words.

"Should I try to hide

The way I feel inside

My heart for you?

Would you say that you

Would try to love me too?"

Harry's voice shook slightly as he sang but the longer his song went on, the stronger and surer his song became. When he reached up hand up to Eggsy's hair and began to run his fingers through it, Eggsy slowly began to stir.

"In your mind

Could you ever be

Really close to me?

I can tell the way you smile

If I feel that I

Could be certain then

I would say the things I want to say tonight"

Harry's song was cut off and his words froze in his throat when Eggsy's eyes slowly opened and connected with Harry's. Eggsy's eyes, which had the amazing ability to look like mirrors of innocence and depths of age and pain, bore into him. Harry felt his heart begin racing while simultaneously his blood felt like it ran cold. He was spared from having to say anything by Eggy's rough, emotion and sleep deepened voice.

"Say it…"

Harry knew that was the moment that he could be honest…..that he could confront his feelings and Eggsy's or he could run from them…though his heart was hammering so hard he thought he was going to give his old body a heart attack he knew what he had to do.

Before he could give his body a moment to stop him, Harry leaned down and kissed Eggsy, knowing he couldn't possibly be as articulate in words as he could in actions. It was just a fraction of a touch, Harry's lips pressing against Eggsy's surprisingly soft ones which were motionless against his. Feeling that maybe he'd made a mistake, Harry began to pull back but then there were arms around his back, pulling him down and lips that were anything but still and impassive. Before he could process what was happening, he was being thoroughly and warmly kissed by Eggsy. His arms were so tightly around him that he couldn't get away even if he had wanted to, which of course he didn't, his lips open and consuming as if he had to make the most of the moment for fear it would fade. Maybe, just as Eggsy's singing had sounded like angels' song to his sleep addled brain, perhaps this too seemed almost too good to be true. The idea that Eggsy could possibly be as happy about this as Harry was himself thrilled him even more.

Wanting to assure Eggsy but also not being able to stop, Harry's arms wound around Eggsy's back, pulling him up flush against chest. He could feel his heartbeat, the heat radiating off his body…Eggsy was so real….so young and beautiful and so, incredibly somehow, his.

It was Eggsy who eventually broke away, panting, his lips swollen and looking more beautifully tousled than Harry would have imagined he was capable of making him. His fingers still dug into Harry's back, gripping his shirt as if he was holding on for dear life. His eyes, those warm, kind eyes were staring deep into his, as if trying to read into Harry's soul. And he found that even if Eggsy could see into him, that could only be a good thing; there was nothing but happiness and good feelings for Eggsy in there.

"Does that say it? Does that convince you how I feel inside?" Harry asked, clinging to Eggsy and giving him a sly smile. He felt hormones and adrenaline flooding through his blood, making him feel shaky and dizzy and simply amazing…..

Eggsy's response this time was to do what Harry had done. After a lip crushing, mind twirling kiss, Eggsy pulled back, grinning at Harry in his typical sly way. "It convinces me a little…..but I think I'll need additional confirmation" he said cheekily and topped it off with a wink. As if he needed to…..Harry was glad he was sitting down because he was, for the first time in far too long, actually weak in the knees.

"I think that can be arranged" Harry grinned before descending on Eggsy once again.