A/N: HUGE thanks to the wonderful beta ivefoundmygoldfish (melonpanparade) without whom this would probably be unreadable ;D

This one-shot is inspired by and based on 'You're an Asshole but I Love you' by ChangingTheCircumstances.So if you ship Percival/Lancelot or simply find this little story interesting make sure to check that one out!

The Ties That Bind

"I still don't quite get it," Eggsy muttered absently, staring out over the lawn towards the shooting range. The sun hung low and was beginning to disappear behind the trees shielding the Kingsman estate from the outside world, leaving behind the fresh air of a beautiful late summer day.

They sat on the upper stone parapet, he and Roxy, feet dangling over the edge, enjoying what felt like the first peaceful moment in years. The first two weeks after V-Day had come and gone in a blur. The remaining Kingsman agents reassembled, helping to pick up the pieces and bring order in what could have resulted in a much larger chaos had the three of them not stopped it so soon. It had, however, taken two more weeks before all the agents had returned to Headquarters to discuss how to proceed and decide upon a new Arthur.

The meeting had come to a close three hours ago, and they had left feeling quite exhausted from all the arguing, yet glad that everything finally seemed to be going back to its routine. More importantly, Eggsy could now proudly call himself a Kingsman after having received the codename Galahad. He was looking forward to working with the new Arthur, who, in his opinion, was by far much better suited for this job than Chester King.

Beside him Roxy shifted to tuck one leg under her body and looked at him with a confused expression. "I'm sorry?"

They had been discussing their task to propose a candidate for the newly vacated position at Kingsman when Eggsy had noticed something very odd. He had voiced his thoughts without realising that Roxy might have no idea what he was going on about.

"Why does Percy never call you by your codename?" he wondered, furrowing his brow in confusion. Roxy suddenly went very still. Noticing her unease, Eggsy mistook it for puzzlement and tried again. "I mean there's nothing wrong with calling you by your real name during training, but ever since you became a Kingsman, he's never referred to or addressed you as Lancelot during briefings or missions.

"And Percival simply doesn't strike me as the type to ignore rules like that, but not calling you Lancelot seems almost like an offence. You've earned the title, you know." He turned away from her again, facing the lawn with a hint of anger in his eyes. "He should respect your abilities! I mean who does he think he is anyway? I don't care if he's generally cold and introverted, he's got no right –"

"No," Roxy interrupted him sharply. "Don't you ever refer to him as 'cold and introverted', don't you dare do that!" Her voice was so full of anger that Eggsy quickly held his hands up in defense.

"Wow, sorry. I didn't think – "

"No, you didn't," Roxy snapped. However, upon seeing the confused and hurt look on his face, she quickly relaxed again, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Eggsy watched her close her eyes and purse her lips in concentration, trying to find out how to best explain her reaction.

They sat in silence for a while. Eggsy, who'd never been the patient type, was starting to fidget when she finally spoke. "You know Percy was my mentor, and therefore the one who recommended me for the position of Lancelot."

Though it was obviously not a question, Eggsy nodded.

"What you don't know - and Merlin did a good job to keep that information from you and the other candidates - is that we have known each other for a very long time before even he joined Kingsman." She paused in her narration for a moment and couldn't help the proud smile forming on her lips. "Percy is my brother, Eggsy."

Despite the many surprises Eggsy had experienced since joining Kingsman, he couldn't keep himself from staring at her in bafflement. He hadn't been expecting this at all. Altough, he had to admit that looking back now, it didn't seem all that absurd. But it still didn't explain why Percy refused to call Roxy, his sister whom he should be proud of, by her codename.

"Doesn't explain his behavior though…" he noted. And, with a teasing grin on his face, he added, "Even though it does explain how you won against my unfailingly charming genius." That earned him a playful but strong shove from his colleague.

"You're a twit," Roxy muttered, poking him in the side.

Eggsy almost squealed in surprise and nearly fell off the parapet while trying to avoid her poking finger. He flailed desperately in an attempt to get hold of the wall and Roxy couldn't suppress a laugh. "And to think you're supposed to be a professional spy…"

They were both laughing wholeheartedly now, the sound of their laughter strange to their own ears. It felt odd being able to laugh freely again, and Eggsy wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else.

It was Roxy who sobered up first. She tucked a few strains of her blonde hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ear and waited for Eggsy to calm down as well.

"I know you deserve an answer," she sighed. "But talking about it still hurts a lot."

Eggsy reached over to lay a hand on her right arm in a brotherly gesture of comfort. They had grown very close in the past weeks and if there was anything he wanted to avoid most it was making her sad or uncomfortable. No matter how great his curiousity. "Hey, you don't have to tell me. I won't be offended if you decide not to, I've just wondered, that's all."

Of course he wouldn't be. Roxy knew that. And it was exactly why she thought it the right thing to do.

"You might have heard that Percival and the previous Lancelot - whose name was James, by the way - were very close friends, although they didn't start out as such." Eggsy nodded, he'd known they'd been close, but no one had said much about the agent. "Before this Lancelot joined Kingsman 17 years ago," Roxy continued, "my brother had been an agent for a couple of years. Of course back then, I didn't know his real job was that of a spy; I was convinced he worked as a tailor.

"I was only eight years old." she recalled with a smile on her face. "And since my oldest brother Kenton had left the country to serve in the army, Percy was the one rescuing me from my mum's wrath once in a while."

"That sounds pretty hard, don't you think? She can't be that bad..." Eggsy interjected, thinking about his own mother.

Roxy chuckled bitterly. "Oh, you have no idea! She is a cold and heartless person, a real tyrant. That her son had wasted his talent to work as a tailor was in her eyes an unforgivable act and an offence to the family and - far more important - herself.

"What I tell you know is mostly what I was told by others, for I experienced it from a different perspective. But you must understand, Eggsy, that my brother was a lot more reserved back then than he is now. My mother's constant bickering had made him retreat into a carefully crafted cocoon, in which emotions were nearly non-existent. When James came along, with his bubbling and overjoyous personality, he took it upon himself to break through that shell. It did take time, of course. But James, persistent and full of self-confidence, eventually managed to gain Percy's trust and they became friends.

"Because James had distanced himself from what was left of his family, Percy brought him round for Christmas a bit later. Of course my eight-year-old self was excited to meet my brother's new friend and we immediately grew fond of each other. But my mother, however, was less happy. I'm convinced it was her power over Percy that kept him from voicing his deeper feelings for James or even admitting them to himself sooner. A man – least of all her own son – loving another man was in her eyes the greatest sin and something that had to be suppressed at all cost.

"Fortunately – and I admit my brother Kenton and I, as well as a few other people, had a hand in it – Percy eventually rebelled against her. And believe me when I tell you I have never seen Percy as happy and at ease as when he was with James." Roxy paused there and Eggsy could tell by the look on her face that her thoughts were far away.

"James was like an uncle to me, Eggsy." He could hear the sadness and trembling in her voice now. "They both practically raised me. And now one of them is never coming back. And I'm just not sure the one he left is ever going to be alright again."

Somehow, Eggsy got the feeling she wasn't only referring to Percy. Looking over he saw Roxy taking a shaky breath, trying very hard not to tear up. Not knowing what to say, he moved closer and put one arm around her shoulder, rubbing her left arm in a soothing gesture.

The knowledge Roxy had just disclosed caused him to see Percy from a whole new perspective. Now he perfectly understood why Percival constantly broke the rules. How could anyone expect him to call his sister by the same name that his lover had once carried; the name of the person who had set him free and shown him the joys and wonders of life; the name of the man who had died while fighting for what was right.

Eggsy found himself mourning for a man he'd never known and feeling sorry for one he had always considered free of emotions.

Life, he thought, was a very tricky thing indeed.

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