[The mess in Costa Rica is more or less done with, finally. Eggsy's been at it for a month now, because this assignment hadn't been as simple as showing up, shooting the bad guys, and then flying home to pick up the next mission. No, this had involved a powerful man by the name of Harley Jamison, one who'd pledged himself to Valentine but whose paranoia had led him to cut his own chip out of his neck -- meaning that he's one of the few who had been spared when Merlin had triggered all the chips to go off.
It seems like a rational person would have considered themselves lucky and quit while they were ahead, gone into hiding or at least kept their head down, but not Jamison. He had decided to install himself in Costa Rica of all places, to try and start his own tiny dictatorship, although those things don't ever remain small, and any subjugation of a people can't be ignored.
Besides, any remnant of Valentine's work Eggsy sees as his responsibility. He'd more or less demanded that Merlin assign this job to him.
Which is something he regrets a bit now, if only because it had been a lot of work. He'd had to infiltrate Jamison's ranks and slowly but surely turn his men against him by spreading information about him -- without being too obvious about what he was doing. Then he had to convince a small homegrown militia to rise up against him and overthrow him, something that had ultimately been successful. He can be glad about that, at least, but mostly Eggsy is just exhausted, especially after the long flight home.
So when he exits the plane and finds that London is being drenched in rain, Eggsy isn't too thrilled about it. He's accustomed to it, of course, having grown up here, but he isn't in the mood to be soaked through. Thankfully, someone has come to his rescue. At first all he can see is the black umbrella, but soon enough it's tilted back and Eggsy is treated with a look at Roxy's face. He hasn't seen her in person in months, though they send messages back and forth when they can, and so he's grinning (wearily, but still grinning) as he approaches.
Whereas Roxy does what she can to be casual about it, Eggsy doesn't make any effort to hide how relieved he is.] Ain't you a sight for sore eyes. [He edges under the umbrella and then closer, invading Roxy's personal space to wrap both arms around her.
She's warm, and he buries his face into her shoulder. They're the only ones out here, he doesn't have to worry about appearances.]
( the arm with the umbrella gets trapped between them when he hugs her; the tactfully designed weapon is also 100% water resistient, but held at such an awkward, crooked angle just means water is running off the top and down her back. which completely negates the purpose of having an umbrella in the first place. but roxy ultimately doesn't mind in the long run.
her unengaged arm hesitates, then snakes around so she can splay her palm between his shoulder blades and press — just a little bit of reaffirming pressure before she rubs her hand in a soothing circle (of assessment). after a few strokes, a few beats, a few breaths against her lapel, roxy pulls away to get a better look at his face. )
You alright?
( because eggsy's rather touchy feely. it's a good thing, a great thing, and something she's come to crave as a sort of cathardic release just as much as the next person in an intense, high stress work environment. but there's something tired about the way he leans on her, and it's concerning. )
[It's possible that the hug would have lasted a lot longer if Roxy hadn't pulled back, mainly because Eggsy doesn't have the energy right now to do more than just flop most of his weight onto someone else. He should have slept on the flight in, but he's not any good at sleeping on planes. What he needs now is his bed, and the thought of it is so good that he could cry.
Not that he does, of course, instead letting his eyes track over Roxy's face as she fixes him with a worried look. He's barely got the brain power to register every shift in her expression, but then again, he no longer has to worry about playing a game, or having an angle. Roxy is just Roxy, and that's why it's so good to see her again.]
Yeah. Just... dead on my feet.
[He rubs at his eye and then realizes that Roxy is getting rained on, so he presses on the stem of the umbrella to angle it back slightly. There isn't really enough space for both of them to fit under it, so he starts to move toward the car.]
( she grins at eggsy while he peels away from her; out from under the umbrella and back into the rain to circle the car and open the passenger door. it's the stupid kind of smile that doesn't go away, either; the slaphappy, content grin that roxy treats the wet pavement to as she follows in his wake, collapsing her umbrella in order to slide into the drivers seat with a decent amount of grace. )
Merlin's asked me to retrieve you for a debrief — ( and he's probably got trackers in everything they own, so she's not exactly about to disobey him outright, but... ) — but afterwards I was thinking we could grab a drink. Or I can just take you home, I'm sure your jetlagged. ( which is her polite way of telling him that, yes, you look dead on your feet, eggsy. )
[Once Eggsy settles in the passenger seat, he wipes any stray droplets of rain away. He should dry off quick enough, not having gotten that wet in the first place, although the urge to put on a fresh set of clothing is very much present.
The idea of going through a debrief right now makes him want to blow his brains out just a bit, and the way that he groans and slumps bodily against the seat makes no secret of that. Still, he also knows better than to ignore the order. Merlin would know. He always knows.]
A drink would be brilliant, yeah. [Eggsy closes his eyes as the car begins to move -- he's just resting them, that's all.] And yeah, after that -- home. [The word feels sweet in his mouth. Home.]
( she nods decidedly, in complete agreement with his game plan and turning the keys in the engine.
it's rather common practice among the knights to compare their latest exploits. they don't see each other all that often, and most of their lives are comprised of kingsman adventures, so shop talk is an easy conversational track to fall into. there's always little things left off the mission reports, anyway; comical errors that nearly ended in death or off hours drinks with tall blondes with nice legs. their line of work is lucrative for hilarious and dramatic stories, and at least most of the time, agents come off their planes or into hq with a spring in their steps and can't wait to share.
but as they peel off of the airstrip and onto a rather empty side road that will eventually lead to a busier highway, and as eggsy closes his eyes and rhapsodizes about home (there's a lot of weight in that one word), roxy deduces that he probably doesn't want to talk about costa rica. )
I don't suppose you've heard about Kay's mishap in Malaysia?
[Eggsy will want to talk about Costa Rica after he's had a twelve hour long sleep and a hot meal and some alcohol, but until then he's uninterested. He'd much rather focus on London's welcoming (if soggy) arms and the sound of Roxy's voice, so missed for so long.
At her question, one of his eyes opens and he glances over at her in the driver's seat. He shakes his head slowly. Hearing about something that happened to another Knight doesn't require a lot of energy on his part, so he bites.
Besides, judging by Roxy's tone, whatever happened to Kay hadn't been so disastrous that it had led to serious injury or death. She wouldn't have dropped that kind of news on Eggsy right now, after just picking him up.]
He was freefalling into the jungle to recover highly classified stolen documents from a displaced Russian militia.
( it'd been an easy mission, but top secret. the only reason she knows all the details now is because merlin hadn't been able to stop smirking like a mad man after he and kay debriefed over holograms teleconference, and she'd looked at him sideways for long enough that he caved and offered her his clipboard.
the playback had been hilarious. she'd have to see if her retelling could have the same effect. and so roxy tapers down her own bemusement, very casually continues: )
And got stuck in a tree. A really, really tall tree where he couldn't cut himself down from. And rather far out on the branches too, so he couldn't climb to the trunk. In the end, Gawain had to been flown in from Alaska to finish the mission and help Kay down.
[Freefalling into a jungle sounds a lot more fun than what Eggsy had to do for the past month, although his moment of being jealous passes as soon as Roxy offers up the rest of the story.
Stuck in a tree? What, like Katniss in the The Hunger Games except he hadn't actually been able to get himself down? Eggsy feels as he shoulders begin to shake with laughter and while it comes out a bit raw, Roxy is still doing a spectacular job of cheering him up.]
Oh my god. He's never gonna live that one down. [He glances at her. Tired though he may be, his eyes still flash with amusement.] How long was he stuck in there?
[It's so much better than Eggsy could have expected, and he bursts out into laughter that shakes its way through him and does its job of healing up some of that fatigue that had set into his bones.]
That's brilliant. I'm gonna give him the hardest time when I see him again.
[Hilarious stories aside, Eggsy is curious about what Roxy's life has been like the past few months, and he thinks he has the energy to ask her now. He glances over at her in the driver's seat.]
So how 'bout you? How's the job been treatin' you?
( oh good, he's laughing. that's always a good sound, and something of a relief to hear when he'd looked so bedraggled on the airstrip. she allows herself a smile, too, at kay's preemptive expense, and keeps the lighthearted atmosphere between them with a casual shrug in response to his inquiry. )
Much of the same, really. Nothing all that new or exciting. ( which isn't a bad thing. but when you start your career floating to the edge of the earths atmosphere to shoot a missile out of orbit in an ancient personal space craft, it's easy to expect more out of kingsman than the realistic mountains of paperwork that followed every mission and filled their off hours.
and she wasn't about to rub in his face how successful her last mission had been; gone off without a hitch, unlike costa rica which had included many hitches from her understanding. onto safe subjects: dogs. ) I saw all the puppies Merlin's gathered for the next round of new recruits. I think JB's made quite an impression on the establishment, there's three pugs this time.
[Nothing all that new or exciting? When they're international spies? It's difficult to imagine that's actually true. They may not be saving the world on a regular basis anymore, and it would be hard to beat their first mission, but there's still plenty that keeps the job exciting. Maybe a little too exciting, sometimes, and this is Eggsy talking.
He feels as if Roxy must be holding out on him, but he'll bug her more about it later, when he's had a long rest and feels more like a human being again. Right now it's more like he's going through the motions until he gets to the welcoming arms of his mattress.
Eggsy is more than happy to talk about dogs, and when Roxy brings that up he pulls his gaze away from the window again, blinks a few times to keep his eyes open.] As it should be. Y'know, even if I picked him by mistake, he's worked out brilliantly. [Does he sound proud? Just a little.] It's gonna be good to see him again -- he better remember me.
[He can't say he knows much about how a dog's memory span works.]
( the morton family had reared hunting dogs on and off throughout the four generations they had occupied on a comfortably large estate with a few heavily wooded acres serving as a backyard. while her father had lost interest in the hobby by the time she was older, the aging hounds had still greeted her with wagging tails and lolling tongues like she hadn't just been away at university for months on end. that's why she doesn't worry all that much about her poodle growing bitter while couped up at her over priced doggy day care. )
I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him, ( roxy reassures, sincere but off hand as they hit their first little bit of highway conjestion. the windshield whipers beat rythmically as the rain picks up, and she leans over the wheel to peer through the rain to try to see just how far ahead the traffic stretched. )
Guess it's a good thing we'll never have children. You can't exactly kennel them while you're away.
[Resentment isn't something that Eggsy's too concerned about when it comes to JB, as he can just leave him with his mum. She's grown fond of him by now and never complains when Eggsy goes on his long "business trips," leaving the dog in her car. Granted, this trip had been particularly long and so Eggsy can only hope his mum isn't too cross about that. The guilt of keeping all this from her has been wearing on him, but he has no idea how she'd react if she learned the truth.
Then again, how much longer can he expect to keep it a secret? She must suspect already, much as he tries to hide his injuries.]
He better have. [Eggsy focuses on the sound of the windshield wipers and finally gives in, letting his eyes drift closed. They're going to be stuck in this traffic for a while, he might as well get some rest in while he can. Though that doesn't stop him from talking.] Not sure why you don't just leave Duchess with the fam, though. [Paying for the doggy day care seems unnecessary, but then again, Roxy's relationship with her parents is a bit weird.]
Me, I think I can live without ever havin' kids. [He's got Daisy and that's close enough for him, given the age difference.]
( she makes an idle sound in the back of her throat, agreement with his agreement of her original statement while idly debating leaving her dog with her mother and father for a change. that's the start of a conversation that would come with a lot of questions — why do you have a dog you aren't going to be around to care for? why does a tailor travel? where are you even going? — and would probably require a fair share of mental preparation.
halfway through planning her opening statement, she notices his eyelids starting to drift closed. )
You can sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there.
( and as they drive a few feet and come to another standstill in the rain and traffic, roxy fiddles with the dials of her radio, queuing up some soft, classical music — to lull eggsy to sleep and to keep her company as she drove. )
[It doesn't seem right for him to fall asleep in the car when Roxy went out of her way to come get him. The least he can do is stay up and continue chatting with her so that she's not bored on the drive in. Despite all of Eggsy's good intentions, though, exhaustion can be a powerful thing and the classical music doesn't help.]
Just gotta rest my eyes for a minute, that's all...
[But even his voice has started to slur by that point, and in just a matter of seconds he's fallen fast asleep, his head slumped to one side as he breathing evens out.
Once he wakes up he'll be much better company, no doubt.]
( once he wakes up — with a firm hand shaking his shoulder, and a few soft hey, heys — they're at hq. the rain hasn't quite let up, but they're parked close enough to the front door that they can make a quick dash for the cover of the house without the umbrella. roxy gives him a decent smile while she shrugs off her jacket and shakes it out; wishes him good luck with merlin (especially after a less than smooth mission), because they always need good luck with their handler, then posts up by a heater in the library.
she waits. kicks up her feet, pages through a few manuals on aerodynamics and speaking without an accent, and enjoys the comfort of being in a warm room while rain pitter pattered. the only thing missing was a drink.
so when eggsy returns, roxy picks herself up and stretches like a lazy cat. ) Did you still want to go out? I meant it, I've no problem just taking you home. ( she would also be down with just fucking off if he politely told her to fuck off. everyone needs time to decompress, in different ways, and sometimes that way wasn't drinking with friends.
[ When Eggsy wakes up he's groggy and spends the walk from the car to Merlin's office rubbing the sleep dust out of his eyes. Still, it's impressive how quickly he's able to put himself together and carry himself like he's fully functional and awake once he's in Merlin's presence.
At this point Eggsy's gone through enough debriefings to know what to expect, but this one is more involved simply because of the length of the assignment and all the snags that came up along the way. Still, his mission had ultimately been successful, and so he and Merlin are able to end on a good note -- there's a shoulder-squeeze worked into the farewell and everything.
Given that Roxy went out of her way to pick him up and then waited through what turned out to be a rather long debrief, there's no way he would just tell her to fuck off. A drink sounds incredible right about now, anyway. ]
We should at least get one drink. [ He sends her a crooked smile and then glances upward when he hears a clap of thunder. ] It's really coming down out there.
[ Not that Eggsy's ever let a little rain stop him from doing what he pleases. ] Think you'd better drive. I'm still not... 100% awake, I don't think. [ He fists at one eye. ]
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It seems like a rational person would have considered themselves lucky and quit while they were ahead, gone into hiding or at least kept their head down, but not Jamison. He had decided to install himself in Costa Rica of all places, to try and start his own tiny dictatorship, although those things don't ever remain small, and any subjugation of a people can't be ignored.
Besides, any remnant of Valentine's work Eggsy sees as his responsibility. He'd more or less demanded that Merlin assign this job to him.
Which is something he regrets a bit now, if only because it had been a lot of work. He'd had to infiltrate Jamison's ranks and slowly but surely turn his men against him by spreading information about him -- without being too obvious about what he was doing. Then he had to convince a small homegrown militia to rise up against him and overthrow him, something that had ultimately been successful. He can be glad about that, at least, but mostly Eggsy is just exhausted, especially after the long flight home.
So when he exits the plane and finds that London is being drenched in rain, Eggsy isn't too thrilled about it. He's accustomed to it, of course, having grown up here, but he isn't in the mood to be soaked through. Thankfully, someone has come to his rescue. At first all he can see is the black umbrella, but soon enough it's tilted back and Eggsy is treated with a look at Roxy's face. He hasn't seen her in person in months, though they send messages back and forth when they can, and so he's grinning (wearily, but still grinning) as he approaches.
Whereas Roxy does what she can to be casual about it, Eggsy doesn't make any effort to hide how relieved he is.] Ain't you a sight for sore eyes. [He edges under the umbrella and then closer, invading Roxy's personal space to wrap both arms around her.
She's warm, and he buries his face into her shoulder. They're the only ones out here, he doesn't have to worry about appearances.]
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her unengaged arm hesitates, then snakes around so she can splay her palm between his shoulder blades and press — just a little bit of reaffirming pressure before she rubs her hand in a soothing circle (of assessment). after a few strokes, a few beats, a few breaths against her lapel, roxy pulls away to get a better look at his face. )
You alright?
( because eggsy's rather touchy feely. it's a good thing, a great thing, and something she's come to crave as a sort of cathardic release just as much as the next person in an intense, high stress work environment. but there's something tired about the way he leans on her, and it's concerning. )
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Not that he does, of course, instead letting his eyes track over Roxy's face as she fixes him with a worried look. He's barely got the brain power to register every shift in her expression, but then again, he no longer has to worry about playing a game, or having an angle. Roxy is just Roxy, and that's why it's so good to see her again.]
Yeah. Just... dead on my feet.
[He rubs at his eye and then realizes that Roxy is getting rained on, so he presses on the stem of the umbrella to angle it back slightly. There isn't really enough space for both of them to fit under it, so he starts to move toward the car.]
And it's been way too long since I've seen you.
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( she grins at eggsy while he peels away from her; out from under the umbrella and back into the rain to circle the car and open the passenger door. it's the stupid kind of smile that doesn't go away, either; the slaphappy, content grin that roxy treats the wet pavement to as she follows in his wake, collapsing her umbrella in order to slide into the drivers seat with a decent amount of grace. )
Merlin's asked me to retrieve you for a debrief — ( and he's probably got trackers in everything they own, so she's not exactly about to disobey him outright, but... ) — but afterwards I was thinking we could grab a drink. Or I can just take you home, I'm sure your jetlagged. ( which is her polite way of telling him that, yes, you look dead on your feet, eggsy. )
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The idea of going through a debrief right now makes him want to blow his brains out just a bit, and the way that he groans and slumps bodily against the seat makes no secret of that. Still, he also knows better than to ignore the order. Merlin would know. He always knows.]
A drink would be brilliant, yeah. [Eggsy closes his eyes as the car begins to move -- he's just resting them, that's all.] And yeah, after that -- home. [The word feels sweet in his mouth. Home.]
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it's rather common practice among the knights to compare their latest exploits. they don't see each other all that often, and most of their lives are comprised of kingsman adventures, so shop talk is an easy conversational track to fall into. there's always little things left off the mission reports, anyway; comical errors that nearly ended in death or off hours drinks with tall blondes with nice legs. their line of work is lucrative for hilarious and dramatic stories, and at least most of the time, agents come off their planes or into hq with a spring in their steps and can't wait to share.
but as they peel off of the airstrip and onto a rather empty side road that will eventually lead to a busier highway, and as eggsy closes his eyes and rhapsodizes about home (there's a lot of weight in that one word), roxy deduces that he probably doesn't want to talk about costa rica. )
I don't suppose you've heard about Kay's mishap in Malaysia?
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At her question, one of his eyes opens and he glances over at her in the driver's seat. He shakes his head slowly. Hearing about something that happened to another Knight doesn't require a lot of energy on his part, so he bites.
Besides, judging by Roxy's tone, whatever happened to Kay hadn't been so disastrous that it had led to serious injury or death. She wouldn't have dropped that kind of news on Eggsy right now, after just picking him up.]
What happened?
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( it'd been an easy mission, but top secret. the only reason she knows all the details now is because merlin hadn't been able to stop smirking like a mad man after he and kay debriefed over holograms teleconference, and she'd looked at him sideways for long enough that he caved and offered her his clipboard.
the playback had been hilarious. she'd have to see if her retelling could have the same effect. and so roxy tapers down her own bemusement, very casually continues: )
And got stuck in a tree. A really, really tall tree where he couldn't cut himself down from. And rather far out on the branches too, so he couldn't climb to the trunk. In the end, Gawain had to been flown in from Alaska to finish the mission and help Kay down.
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Stuck in a tree? What, like Katniss in the The Hunger Games except he hadn't actually been able to get himself down? Eggsy feels as he shoulders begin to shake with laughter and while it comes out a bit raw, Roxy is still doing a spectacular job of cheering him up.]
Oh my god. He's never gonna live that one down. [He glances at her. Tired though he may be, his eyes still flash with amusement.] How long was he stuck in there?
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Six and a half hours.
( and it is incredibly doubtful he — or whomever replaces him upon his retirement — will live down this misadventure. )
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That's brilliant. I'm gonna give him the hardest time when I see him again.
[Hilarious stories aside, Eggsy is curious about what Roxy's life has been like the past few months, and he thinks he has the energy to ask her now. He glances over at her in the driver's seat.]
So how 'bout you? How's the job been treatin' you?
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Much of the same, really. Nothing all that new or exciting. ( which isn't a bad thing. but when you start your career floating to the edge of the earths atmosphere to shoot a missile out of orbit in an ancient personal space craft, it's easy to expect more out of kingsman than the realistic mountains of paperwork that followed every mission and filled their off hours.
and she wasn't about to rub in his face how successful her last mission had been; gone off without a hitch, unlike costa rica which had included many hitches from her understanding. onto safe subjects: dogs. ) I saw all the puppies Merlin's gathered for the next round of new recruits. I think JB's made quite an impression on the establishment, there's three pugs this time.
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He feels as if Roxy must be holding out on him, but he'll bug her more about it later, when he's had a long rest and feels more like a human being again. Right now it's more like he's going through the motions until he gets to the welcoming arms of his mattress.
Eggsy is more than happy to talk about dogs, and when Roxy brings that up he pulls his gaze away from the window again, blinks a few times to keep his eyes open.] As it should be. Y'know, even if I picked him by mistake, he's worked out brilliantly. [Does he sound proud? Just a little.] It's gonna be good to see him again -- he better remember me.
[He can't say he knows much about how a dog's memory span works.]
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I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him, ( roxy reassures, sincere but off hand as they hit their first little bit of highway conjestion. the windshield whipers beat rythmically as the rain picks up, and she leans over the wheel to peer through the rain to try to see just how far ahead the traffic stretched. )
Guess it's a good thing we'll never have children. You can't exactly kennel them while you're away.
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Then again, how much longer can he expect to keep it a secret? She must suspect already, much as he tries to hide his injuries.]
He better have. [Eggsy focuses on the sound of the windshield wipers and finally gives in, letting his eyes drift closed. They're going to be stuck in this traffic for a while, he might as well get some rest in while he can. Though that doesn't stop him from talking.] Not sure why you don't just leave Duchess with the fam, though. [Paying for the doggy day care seems unnecessary, but then again, Roxy's relationship with her parents is a bit weird.]
Me, I think I can live without ever havin' kids. [He's got Daisy and that's close enough for him, given the age difference.]
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halfway through planning her opening statement, she notices his eyelids starting to drift closed. )
You can sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there.
( and as they drive a few feet and come to another standstill in the rain and traffic, roxy fiddles with the dials of her radio, queuing up some soft, classical music — to lull eggsy to sleep and to keep her company as she drove. )
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Just gotta rest my eyes for a minute, that's all...
[But even his voice has started to slur by that point, and in just a matter of seconds he's fallen fast asleep, his head slumped to one side as he breathing evens out.
Once he wakes up he'll be much better company, no doubt.]
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she waits. kicks up her feet, pages through a few manuals on aerodynamics and speaking without an accent, and enjoys the comfort of being in a warm room while rain pitter pattered. the only thing missing was a drink.
so when eggsy returns, roxy picks herself up and stretches like a lazy cat. ) Did you still want to go out? I meant it, I've no problem just taking you home. ( she would also be down with just fucking off if he politely told her to fuck off. everyone needs time to decompress, in different ways, and sometimes that way wasn't drinking with friends.
revolutionary, right? )
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At this point Eggsy's gone through enough debriefings to know what to expect, but this one is more involved simply because of the length of the assignment and all the snags that came up along the way. Still, his mission had ultimately been successful, and so he and Merlin are able to end on a good note -- there's a shoulder-squeeze worked into the farewell and everything.
Given that Roxy went out of her way to pick him up and then waited through what turned out to be a rather long debrief, there's no way he would just tell her to fuck off. A drink sounds incredible right about now, anyway. ]
We should at least get one drink. [ He sends her a crooked smile and then glances upward when he hears a clap of thunder. ] It's really coming down out there.
[ Not that Eggsy's ever let a little rain stop him from doing what he pleases. ] Think you'd better drive. I'm still not... 100% awake, I don't think. [ He fists at one eye. ]