#merlin is so fucking hard to draw to me but i swear i’ll crack him one day

[irishyuri]

also some gwaine & gwen sketches from my bus ride yesterday cause they were fun

[inkandpen22]

Young Hearts Divided (7/?)

Pairing: James Potter x Female!Reader/ Sirius Black x Female!Reader

Warnings: mild swearing, fluff, angst 

Word Count: 2k

Part Summary: It’s officially Hogsemeade day. While Y/N goes with James as promised, Sirius does everything he can to test her limits and make her reveal what they’ve done. 

A/N: Hi everyone, sorry for the delay and sorry that this portion is so short. I promise I will get caught up with all of the series updates by the end of the week hopefully! X

Masterlist

Lily, Marlene, and I wait by the entrance leading in from the entrance courtyard for the boys to come down from the tower. Today is finally Hogsmeade day and I have mixed feelings about it. For over a week, I was looking forward to it. Then, my brother was abducted. My family had to go into hiding. Sirius and I... well... it's us. We're complicated. On the surface, we're everything two best friends ought to be. We already cared for and loved one another as friends. Yet, we added more love to the mix, even just an ounce more and everything got knocked off-kilter.

Arms snake their way around my waist and bring me into their chest.

"Are you excited?" James whispers in my ear and plants a kiss on my temple.

Sirius and the other boys appear around us, forming a circle. James remains around me like a blanket as my eyes land Sirius. In an entirely black outfit, Sirius looks more like the poster child for teen angst than usual. It's not a daily occurrence that we get out of our school uniforms, so when we do Sirius gets a lot of attention from the female population. Especially when he's in his worn leather jacket like he is today. Now, half of the school's population will be drooling over him. Does he do it to bother me? Does he think getting attention from other girls will make me fight for him?

"Looking forward to it," I reply, smiling into James's embrace.

Sirius shifts on his feet and nervously looks away at anything he can set his eyes on.

"What would you like to do first?" James asks, oblivious to the small interaction between Sirius and me.

"Stop at Honeydukes! I wanted to get some chocolates," Peter announces as if the question was directed at him.

"We can stop by the pub and get some butterbeer with everyone," James tells me quietly between us.

"Sounds perfect."  

I tilt my head to the side to see James and he peers down at me. He peers at me so admirably that I can feel the warmth rising in my cheeks under the intensity of his gaze. I glance away and scan our group of friends. Sirius's eyes pour into mine with an equal amount of intensity, but it's not due to admiration. He's pressuring me, reminding me of what he said the other day. I have a feeling this will be a long day. ______________________________ After wandering around Hogsmeade together, James and I meet everyone at the pub for some butterbeer. Gathered around a long wooden table, the seven of us sip on our drinks and chatter. I sit between James and Remus, while Sirius just so happens to be positioned right across from me. He hasn't caused a scene yet, but that doesn't mean he won't. It's Sirius, he doesn't care about being the center of attention. Whenever I'm in his presence with James, I fear he might drop the bomb from last weekend or what occurred in that classroom. Of course, I've thought about how he could do it when I'm not around too, but where would the fun be in that for Sirius. If he were to do it, he would do it publicaly.

As I talk to Remus about meeting tomorrow in the library, James drapes his arm over my shoulders to gain my attention. When I turn to him, he smiles charmingly.

"Y/N," he purrs.

"James," I greet playfully.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," he tells me, taking my hand and interlocking them.

Our friends chit-chat around us, granting us some mild privacy amongst the group.

"And what is that?" I raise a brow.

James's features and entire demeanor shifts entirely. One minute he was all giddy, charming, and bright. Now, he's a tad anxious, starring down at our interlocked hands in my lap. What does he have to tell me?

"Goodness, I'm just going to say it," he sighs and finally meets my gaze. "Y/N, I like you."

All of that fuss for that? Of course, James and I like each other, we've been friends since we were kids!

I pat his hand, taking it in both of mine. "Aw, thank you, I'm quite fond of you too."

"I was wondering..." he laughs nervously, still fidgety. "You know if you wanted to... be my girlfriend."

My eyes grow wide for a second as an instinct reaction. Then, I snap out of it as I process his words. "Oh," I manage to mutter.

Abruptly, there's a noise from across the table and Sirius starts choking on his drink. The area of the table in front of him is wet with butterbeer. James and I are far too occupied to pay much attention. My focus switches between Lily patting Sirius on the back and James beside me. I thought he was simply being James, a goof and rarely serious.

"I... I umm," I struggle to form a response.

My mind has gone blank as though every ability to function has slipped from me.

Sirius flies up from his chair, insisting to Lily and the others that he's fine. He marches around the table and grabs my arm. I stumble up from my seat as he tugs me toward the door.

"You. Me. Outside. Now," he commands sharply under his breath.

"I'll be right back with you!" I point to James.

Sirius grips my bicep so hard that it'll likely bruise. Students walking by watch in confusion. Goodness, he's so dramatic. I couldn't get a word in before he pulled me away. He yanks me from the library and shoves me into a classroom. Now, he tugs me away from our friends and shoves me into an alley. He needs to learn to use his words like a  mature person.

Is that why he spit out his drink, because of what James said? I didn't process before as I was still stunned by James's confession. Sirius yanks me into the alley around the corner and releases me toward the wall.

"What the actual hell, Sirius?!" I swear at the boy. "First the library now this?! I have legs!"

"Are you genuinely kidding me?!" He has the audacity to yell back.

Curious eyes glance down the alley upon hearing Sirius and I shouting. This is so embarrassing. If I'm the center of gossip this week because of Sirius I will curse him.

"You can't honestly be considering for a second being with him! James likes Lily! He'll choose her in the end! He's just mad and confused because she isn't giving him the time of day!" He fires at me.

My chest rises and falls rapidly, he's just said what I've been telling myself ever since James asked me to Hogsmeade. I ignored the thoughts to give James a chance. Yet, let's be honest, James has had a thing for Lily since the moment he saw her. It's how I felt when I met Sirius... I'm taking that to the grave though. I wouldn't want to give Sirius the satisfaction.

"Wow, so I'm just a cover-up?! Rebound?! What does that make me?!" I argue, hiding my true thoughts.

Sirius releases a deep sigh as he combs his fingers through his hair.

"He likes you because to James, you're the next best thing after Lily but..." he stops himself, his volume not so defeating.

I cross my arms over my chest, "oh, so now you get shy?! What happened to grabbing me out of places whenever you like?! But what, Sirius?!"

Sirius's focus snaps in my direction and frustration return to his face.

"But to me, you're the whole damn world and you're still here with him! Is that what you want to hear, Y/N?!" He shouts at me. His voice cracks slightly at the end as emotion gets in the way.

I shuffle back into the wall and rest against it, overwhelmed by everything. The dirt beneath my shoes become the center of my focus. There's a silence between us as Sirius stares at me with glassy eyes. I hate this. I hate that I'm the reason his jet black eyes are shimmering and his voice is cracking. Sirius is usually so confident and unfazed. It draws everyone to him. He walks on clouds with the world beneath him. The entire universe revolves around him.

"I'm not going to beg you to be with me because fuck that," he breaks the silence, kicking some gravel beneath his feet with his black boot.

"But Merlin Y/N, I love you," he shakes his head, meeting my gaze.

My eyes start to well and what should be a happy moment hurts like hell. It's as though a troll is sitting on my chest. I can hardly breathe.

"I do," he nods slowly. "I meant what I said by the lake and since then you've been slipping away from me. I can't exist in a world without you in it. You're..." he sighs deeply, finding it hard to finish. "You're home to me."

I wipe a stray tear away from my cheek, turning my head down the alley.

"I hate seeing you cry," he mutters into the wind, wiping tears away from his own eyes. "I never wanted to be the cause of it."

"How do you think I feel seeing you cry?" I finally speak, my tone weak.

Guilt plagues his features and Sirius crosses the alley to me. He pulls me into his chest comfortingly. I wrap my arms around his waist as I cry into his shirt. He kisses the top of my head then rests his cheek there.

The attitude between us now in comparison to moments ago is a complete flip. Granted, it's me and Sirius. We're never predictable. Everything we do, we do passionately. One minute we're wild and having the best time arguing like a divorced couple. It's a rollercoaster of a relationship. From the moment we met, I knew Sirius would bring me the greatest happiness and the greatest heartache. He's everything to me.

I struggle to speak smoothly into the warmth of his chest. "I can't hurt anyone. I can't take on any more drama. I wish things were simple again. Things were so much easier a mere week ago. Yet now everything has gotten all jumbled."

"It doesn't have to be, not if you let me help you," he whispers.

"Please help me," I plead, clinging to him.

Sirius tucks his fingers beneath my chin to meet his gaze. His eyes are bloodshot and his lashes wet. I must look like a raccoon with my eye makeup. Thank goodness Sirius's shirt is black.

"I will always be here for you," he assures me as he caresses my cheek. "What's your problem is mine too. It's you and me, okay? I will get you through this."

I nod as an immense weight lifts off my chest. I need Sirius more than anyone and to hear him say these things eases my mind.

"Do you want to head back to the castle? I'll tell everyone you didn't feel well or something," he conjures up.

I nod silently and his hand slips behind my neck while he plants a kiss on my forehead.

"I'll be right back," he states and starts heading back toward the pub entrance.

I watch him stroll away, using the sleeve of his leather jacket to dry his eyes.

"Hey, Sirius?" I call. My voice is still shaky.

He skids to a stop, spinning on the heels of his boots unsteadily. "What's up?"

"I love you. I...” I laugh, a tad nervous as I kick about some pebbles randomly. “I wasn’t ever planning on tell you, but I’ve loved you since I first saw you on the train. i just-” 

"I know," he replies without missing a beat.

“You did?!” my jaw nearly hits the floor. I whine, tossing my head back with embarrassment. “This whole time you knew... I mean of course you did. I know it’s not a great confession like you did just now,” I ramble on anxiously. “But I just thought you should know that ‘hey, the feelings are reciprocated. I know I can be a hard ass and indecisive, but so can you.’ I figured we-” 

A faint smile appears on his lips, a complete contrast to the wetness of his eyes. He glances behind him then jogs back to me. He wraps his arms around me again and plants a kiss on my cheek.

"I know, My Love," he tells me. “ Thank you. I love you too.” 

_______________________

Masterlist

Tags: @hannah220506 @agirlwholovescoffee @a-classic-eye @devilstradegy @blackbirddaredevil23 @tay-mariee @blackpinkdolan @findzela @emilianamason

[thesmalltowngal]

Snowbaz 24- Swaying In the Snow

Otp Prompt #24: Simon and Baz still haven’t resolved their feelings- they’ve been too caught up in the war brewing on the horizon since they got back to Watford. Baz just wants one interrupted moment alone with Simon.

~ This contains minor WS spoilers. Enjoy! ~

*Baz’s POV*

We’ve been back at Watford for weeks now since our road trip. After Simon and I were so rudely interrupted on the beach, we rushed right to the airport and we all had separate seats on the plane. As soon as we got back, we were immediately rushed to Watford and sent to work- there is a war brewing on the horizon, after all. (Worse than the Humdrum- worse than even the fucking mage himself.) (After seeing the video of us doing magick at the fair, we were almost struck from the book; thankfully, there’s a war and we’re all needed.) (Even Simon.)

Simon and I haven’t had one bloody minutes to talk about the pressing issue of us. We’ve been apart this whole time, part of it is just us being busy and part of it being us actively avoiding each other. And now we’re at a safehouse with Penny in the middle of nowhere, the trees being the only other living things around. And it’s snowing outside now as Simon and I work around each other outside in silence. The snow is a cruel reminder that the snow outside will be the closest I’ll get to touching Snow in a long while.

So I resolve to fix that. 

…

“Simon!” I call from the front door of the cabin. Both he and Bunce materialize in front of me. I roll my eyes at Bunce (even though I love her) and shoo her away.

“Did I say Bunce and Simon? I think not. Sorry love, but this pertains to Simon and I’s breaking relationship, thank you very bloody much.” There’s a long silence in which Penny looks at Simon uncertainly, he looks at me and then back to her, and he nods his head at her. (Merlin, I swear it’s like they have telepathy at times- I wouldn’t be surprised.) He takes a step closer to me.

“What is it, Baz? I really don’t think we should-”

“Nonsense. Come along then, Snow. It shouldn’t be long,” I gesture for him to walk with me and I start out the door, hoping that he follows me. I take a quick look behind my shoulder, and sure enough, he huffs along behind me looking nervous. “Come down, Snow. I’m not taking you to the middle of the woods to murder you. What fun would that be on our little vacation?” He lets out a small laugh, which feels like a victory. 

We walk for a few more minutes before the spot I’ve set up comes into view. It’s in the middle of a clearing in the snow-covered woods, fairy lights strung up in the trees and soft music playing in the background. Crowley, I did an amazing job, if I do say so myself. Simon stops in his tracks as we reach the edge, eyeing the scene carefully. 

“Baz? What is this?”

I sigh. (I seem to be doing that a lot lately.) “Listen, I know that we haven’t gotten a chance to talk about… well, us, yet. But I’m not going to make you do that until you’re ready. So…” I walk backwards into the clearing, right in the middle of it all. “I figure we can at least dance, instead. Take a break. Forget everything. Just… just dance,” I wait patiently as he slowly walks a bit closer to me, still skeptical. He looks uncertain, but he hasn’t run away yet, which is good. 

“Baz, we’re in the middle of a war-”

“We’re always in the middle of a war,” I sigh as I let my arms fall momentarily before extending an arm to him. The snow is falling all around us and soft jazz plays in the background. (Like in the fucking movies.) “Dance with me, Snow.” He looks at me for a second like I’ve lost my head. (Perhaps I have- I think I lost it long ago when I fell for this broken shell of a boy.)

He sighs like I’ve won and he walks forward toward me, hesitantly. I take his hand in mine and wrap my arm around his waist; it’s a lot like how it was at the end of the eighth year. However, we’re more broken now, I think. More separate than ever. But right now, in the snow with the fairy lights and music and Simon… I decide to not think of any of that. 

He sways back and forth gently with me, burying his head into my chest. I inhale the smell of his hair and close my eyes as I rest my head on top of his. I take a moment to revel in the fact that he’s letting me hold him. I feel fucking untouchable. We’re not completely mended, of course. (Perhaps we never will be.) And we haven’t really bloody gotten a proper talk yet. But tonight… tonight seems like the beginning of fixing our relationship. Just one small, miniscule step in mending the complete and utter fucking mess that is Simon and Baz’s love story. But I’ll be damned and drawn and fucking quartered if I give up on us now. 

*Simon’s POV*

This is just like something that Baz would do. Set up a secret romantic spot and make me dance with him in a desperate attempt to draw me back in…

It might be working. We have so much to work through, but here, swaying in his arms, makes me want to forget about it all. I just remember how happy he looked in Vegas; with his own people. He looked like he belonged there- he was happy. Then again, he said he would only be happy wherever I am. (Which isn’t very bloody easy to believe considering… everything, really.) But I want to believe him. Oh god, I so desperately want to believe him. I’ve been avoiding him lately because I know that one look into his eyes and he could convince me that anything is possible. I just wanted to get my head on straight. (Let’s be honest, my fucking head has never been on quite straight since I met him.)

I just… I feel so safe in his arms- I know I love him. I know that. It’s just that I’m so different… so fucking broken, now. But it’s very hard to believe that we won’t make it when I am in love with him so very much that Crowley, it bloody hurts. 

I’d give him all that I am. (A broken mess in love.) I’d give him all that I was. (An all powerful mage that had a few cracks with no wings and no tail.) I’d open up a vein. (Any of the major ones, of course.) I’d tie our hearts together chamber by chamber. (What I wouldn’t give to be bound to him for life… however long that is for us.)

Right now, I decide to just stop thinking, and let the beat of the music guide my heart as we sway in the snow. 

[fleetofshippyships-archive]

Heyyy for ur drabble prompt thing could u pretty please do Blaise/Ron with "I'm sure there's a better way of achieving an end" Thanks!

(Sooooo, this ended up as 1.7k? Whoops! AO3 LINK cos the ‘read more’ will cut off the rest on mobile sorry)

“I’m sure there’s a better way of achieving an end,” Blaise muttered, shifting again.

“Stay still! you’ll give us away,” Ron hissed, cuffing the back of his head.

“Don’t touch me, weasel!”

Ron scoffed, and peered through the crack in the cupboard door again. Blaise tried to stay still, but there was a sharp box corner digging into his thigh, and one of Ron’s elbows was pressing uncomfortably against his ribs.

“We could have used disillusionment charms to hide!” he hissed, jostling him again.

“Harry can see them,” Ron muttered. “Quit your complaining, it was your idea to jump out at them and have them stumble back and trigger the spells. This cupboard is in the perfect position for that.”

“We only need to get them to back into the couch. There are many different ways we could do that. When you said to leave it to you, I thought that—”

Ron turned and pressed a hand over his mouth. “It’s all part of the plan,” he whispered. “Now would you shut up?”

Blaise grit his teeth, and nodded, and Ron took the hand off his mouth.

Jostling Ron again, he managed to get more comfortable, even if it meant they were far too close to each other. It was better than that box digging into the back of his thigh. Besides, Ron always smelled good, so at least it wasn’t like the time he’d been crammed in a closet with Greg.

“Are you sniffing me, Zabini?”

Blaise blinked, and reared his head back, only to smack it on a box sticking out from the shelf behind him.

“Fuck!”

“Shut up!” Ron hissed, slapping a hand over his mouth again.

Blaise tried to tell him to let got, but it came out in a muffled garble, and Ron didn’t move his hand. It looked like he was squinting in the darkness. It was hard to see, with the only light filtering in from the crack where the door was slightly open.

“You know, when I told Malfoy I wanted your help in pranking Harry, and asked whether you’d be afraid to be crammed in a closet or something, he laughed. A lot.”

Blaise made an angry muffled sound. Their plan had been to work both of them. Ron going to Draco about getting Blaise’s help to prank Harry, and Blaise going to Harry about Ron helping him prank Draco. Lull them into a false sense of security. They’d be unable to resist being around each other, waiting for the prank to go off, and smug about being involved without it being traced back to them. They wouldn’t guess the plan was to get both of them.

Blaise had thought it sounded a bit overly complicated. While those two idiots were mostly, almost, friendly now, they still fought too much. He and Ron had bonded over what idiots they were for continuing to be so pathetically petty. And he had been impressed by the Gryffindor’s pranking ideas before. It was too interesting to pass up the chance to get Draco as payback for all his complaining about Harry.

But maybe Draco had played him.

Blaise hadn’t said anything about being attracted to the ginger git, but Draco wasn’t an idiot. And Ron liked to walk from the showers to his dorm room in just his towel, right through the common room, since the dorms and the bathrooms were stupidly placed on opposite sides of the eighth-year quarters. It was making Blaise go a little bit mad.

Not that he liked the git or anything. He was still an annoying, pompous Gryffindor. Even if he was a lot nicer now than he’d used to be. Even if he and Granger had stopped being ridiculously awkward, and making everyone else awkward with them, and gone back to being normal friends. Even if he played a good game of chess. Even if Blaise had not yet managed to beat him, but he was a good sport about it.

“Almost like there was something funny about associating you with a closet,” Ron added, drawing Blaise back from his thoughts.

Blaise made another muffled sound, and tugged at Ron’s wrist.

There was laughter outside the cupboard, and Blaise froze. Harry and Draco. Having one of their good days, and not fighting for once.

Tugging at Ron’s wrist again, he tried to get him to let go. They were missing their chance. Ron held firm, moving to pin Blaise against the shelves, and preventing him from leaving the cupboard to trigger the prank.

After a few moments Harry and Draco’s voices had faded, and Blaise made an angry sound.

“This is a much more interesting opportunity,” Ron said, finally sliding his hand off Blaise’s mouth. “You’re bent, aren’t you? That’s why Malfoy laughed about—”

“I don’t see what business it is of yours!” Blaise hissed, shoving him, until he hit the other side of the tiny cupboard, and Blaise finally had some breathing room.

Ron didn’t even seem angry. Instead, he laughed, and Blaise bristled, his stomach sinking from the possibility that Ron was going to be an arse about this.

“That’s why you’re always making that face when you see me after my showers!” he exclaimed. “I knew I wasn’t imagining that!”

“Piss off,” Blaise muttered half-heartedly, making to leave.

“Hang on, hang on,” Ron said, grabbing his arm, and stopping him. “Don’t go overthinking it.”

Blaise tore his arm free, and prodded Ron sharply in the chest. “Laughing at someone after calling them bent is fucking disgusting, Ron,” he hissed, unable to stop himself from using his given name, and finding himself surprised by how much this upset him. “You’re better than that!”

Ron made a sound that was clearly muffled laughter, and Blaise was sorely tempted to hit him. But Ron was stronger than him, and he wouldn’t win an outright physical altercation. He was no fool.

“You don’t see it, do you?” Ron said, his hand suddenly gripping Blaise’s chin.

Before he could comprehend it, Ron’s lips were pressed against his, the aim slightly off in the poor lighting, but undeniably a kiss.

He didn’t have time to react. Ron’s lips left his before he could even catalogue the sensation properly, and then their foreheads were touching, and Ron’s hand was cupping his jaw. Surprisingly gentle.

“You never thought it was weird that I had my showers all at different times, and always when you were hanging around in the common room?” he said quietly. “I’d heard rumours, but you’re too hard to read. Even though I thought you might be checking me out, it wasn’t clear enough to confirm. I didn’t know what to do.”

“You absolute—”

“I didn’t make nice with Malfoy for Harry, you know,” Ron interrupted. “Harry is still being a stupid prat about him. I mean, Malfoy deserved a second chance, but he is still a prick most of the time. So why do you think I’ve tolerated the git? It got me closer to you, you silly twat.”

Blaise scowled before he could stop himself. “Yes, insult the boy you like, and his friend, excellent strategy,” he hissed.

Ron laughed again, low, soothing. His thumb was brushing over Blaise’s cheek, and he wanted to turn and bite it. It was making his face heat up, and he wasn’t one to get so affected by something so simple, surely.

“What is a good strategy then?” Ron asked. “I’m a bit out of my depth with boys. I was just winging it until now.”

Blaise exhaled slowly. This was like some messed up hallucination. Like the time he and Draco had consumed a bad batch of dreamless sleep in seventh year, and had the most insane waking dreams.

“Blaise?” Ron asked softly, sounding unsure.

Merlin. Ronald Weasley, sounding vulnerable. That was a thing unheard of. He was confidence personified. More so than bloody Harry Potter.

His stomach quivered from the thought of having that effect on him. Worthy payback after being tormented by that naked torso, with beads of water still clinging to his freckled skin, parading through the common room.

“Oh, Merlin,” Ron whined. “I’ve gone and cocked this up, haven’t it? Please, be a mate? Don’t tell Harry? He’ll tell George and Ginny. I’ll never live it down. I’ll never mention this again, I swear, just don’t tell—”

Blaise leaned forward, kissing him, and cutting off his rambling. He received a startled sound for his efforts, and Ron’s other hand gripping his shoulder tightly. He’d caught him with his mouth open, and tentatively touched his lips with his tongue. Easier to show than tell sometimes.

Ron made a low sound, and then his hands were cupping Blaise’s face, and the kiss was deeper, and their tongues were touching, and Blaise had never been kissed like this before. All he’d had was that awkward peck from Seamus bloody Finnigan after the Yule Ball in fourth year that they never, ever talked about again.

Reaching out, gripping Ron’s sides, wanting to pull him closer, he was unprepared for a sudden burst of light.

They pulled apart, turning to see Draco and Harry standing behind Dean Thomas, who was wielding a camera. Draco and Harry were grinning like smug idiots, and Blaise felt his face set in a scowl. Looking to Ron, he saw a similar expression.

Ron nodded to him, and as one, the lurched forward, shoving the three of them until they hit the back of the couch and triggered the prank spells contained there. A waterfall of purple sparkling, sticky liquid came gushing down from the disillusioned container attached to the ceiling. Moments later, the couch behind them exploded into a flurry of feathers, and a flick of Ron’s wand had the curtains tearing themselves from their rails, and wrapping around their ankles, before hoisting them up, and hovering near the ceiling to dangle them upside down.

Dean, Draco, and Harry were silent for a moment, hanging there, covered in feathers and sparkles, and then the swearing began. Ron turned to Blaise, and gave him a smug smirk.

“Game of chess in the kitchens?” he asked, stowing his wand.

“Excellent, I’m starving,” Blaise replied, tossing a smirk at Draco, and then following Ron from the common room.

At least the prank hadn’t been wasted after all.

Prompting rules | My other prompted drabbles: Tumblr or AO3

[hartwinorlose]

Hartwin, on the run from Kingsman. Angst + happy ending?

@zombiisheep

“Harry?” Eggsy’s voice is thick with incredulity. He doesn’t lower the barrel of his gun.

Tousle-haired, blood-spattered, one-eyed, Harry stands in front of him, chest heaving for breath. “Eggsy.”

The gun lowers an inch until it’s centered directly over Harry’s heart. “I don’t want to do this,” Eggsy whispers. His heart is thundering hard enough that he thinks his ribs will crack.

Harry steps forward until the muzzle digs into the meat of his chest. He wraps one hand around Eggsy’s wrist and hates the way he flinches. “You don’t have to. I’m not what they told you.”

That catches Eggsy’s attention. His finger wavers on the trigger. “What?” He licks dry, cracked lips, mind a mess of thought.

Merlin’s voice rings in his ear, as bland and mechanical as it always is. “Excalibur, end this. He isn’t Galahad anymore; he’s a traitor. You have to-”

Eggsy taps the side of the glasses to mute them. He needs to think. Harry’s hand is heavy on his arm, makes the blood thrum through his veins. For the first time in months, Eggsy feels alive.

He hadn’t known a heart could break more than once. Eggsy thinks his must be a patchwork of stitches by now. It had cracked and cracked and cracked again, once when Harry had fallen outside the church, another time when they’d discovered he was still alive, and a final time when they’d realized Harry wasn’t Harry anymore. Poppy had gotten to him, twisted him into a facsimile of his former self, and set him against Kingsman.

Here, now, staring into Harry’s eye, Eggsy finds this hard to believe. “But Poppy…” He trails off, unsure what to say.  

“Only thought she’d changed me,” Harry says quietly. “I swear to you, Eggsy, I am who I’ve always been.”  

Merlin must have overridden his comms because Eggsy can hear him again. The flat calm he usually exudes is gone, replaced by an undercurrent of steel. “Excalibur. Killing him is your responsibility, but if you fail to do so, I will not hesitate to send someone else. Help him, and we’ll be forced to consider you just as much a traitor.”

Eggsy’s breath is ragged in his chest. His heart, once pounding so relentlessly, doesn’t seem to be beating at all anymore. With a groan of agony, he rips his glasses off, tosses them to the floor, and crushes them beneath his heel.

Harry’s shoulders slump in relief. “Thank you, Eggsy.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Eggsy growls. He shoves his gun back in the holster and jerks his head back in the direction he came. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”

Harry nods his agreement, but places his hand on Eggsy’s shoulder when he turns to run off. “I know a better way. An entrance Kingsman won’t be covering.”

Eggsy hesitates. Despite it all, doubt creeps in. What if Harry is leading him into a trap? “Yeah… alright,” he says eventually.

The two of them sprint down the corridor, Eggsy a mere half-step behind Harry, letting him lead.

“This way,” Harry says, slipping into a darkened corridor.

The taste of iron floods Eggsy’s mouth as they slip into the shadows, a tingling of betrayal starting at the base of his spine. Where could Harry possibly be taking him? His hand drifts to the butt of his gun, a precaution only, but one he’s starting to feel is necessary. Christ, what has he done?

Darkness swallows them whole.

Eggsy feels a hand catch his and stifles a yelp of surprise.

“It’s only me,” Harry assures him, squeezing his fingers.

Eggsy follows, blind, completely helpless. He tries to get a feel for how much distance they’ve covered, but he loses count of his footsteps eventually.

It could be hours or it could be minutes before he hears Harry’s hiss of triumph. There’s a few mechanical clinks, and then a door swings slowly outward.

Eggsy blinks in the sudden rush of sunlight. He stumbles into the light, looks back to see a vault door creaking shut behind them.

The room they’ve emerged into is cavernous. Bright-colored boxes of candy are stacked floor to ceiling, filling all the space except for a narrow corridor through the middle.

“Poppy’s supply,” Eggsy whispers, awed. Kingsman had vastly underestimated the scope of her preparation.

Harry nods. “We need to destroy it. Do you have anything?”

This had not been part of the plan. Eggsy was supposed to take care of Harry and get out. He hadn’t planned for this. “A few lighter grenades.” He doesn’t see how it could possibly be enough to take out everything.

Frowning, Harry surveys the room. “They’ll have to do,” he says eventually. “We’ll take care of as much as we can.”

“No,” Eggsy says with a sharp shake of his head.

Harry looks back at him, puzzled. “What?”

“No,” Eggsy repeats. He sets his jaw stubbornly, hands curled into fists. “If we start blowin’ things up in here, Poppy’s gonna notice. I ain’t bringin’ her down on us when I just got you back. The two of us are gettin’ out of here. I’ll go back to Kingsman and tell them we was wrong about you, and they can send someone out here to take care of all this.” He sweeps his arm to indicate the stockpile. “So come on, then. How do we get out of here?”

For a moment, Harry just looks back at him, and Eggsy is convinced he’s going to argue with him. But in the end, Harry just sighs and starts off through the boxes.

A well-hidden door stands behind several stacks. Harry and Eggsy slip through to find a set of stairs, so high up they can’t tell where it ends. They climb for what feels like hours, Eggsy’s well-trained muscles screaming by the time they reach the top.

Nothing but a steel door greets them.

Eggsy holds his breath, gun at the ready, and pushes it open.

The air is thin and cold, the way it can only be in the mountains. Trees cluster thickly around the small structure they emerge from, hiding it from view.

Harry and Eggsy stand in the doorway for a moment in an attempt to get their bearings. Clearly, they’ve traveled further than Eggsy thought.

“Right,” Eggsy says. “We’ll have to get to Kingsman’s rendezvous point. Only problem is, I don’t know how to get to it from here.”

Harry smirks. “If only we had a pair of Kingsman-issued glasses,” he says lightly.

Scowling, Eggsy elbows Harry. “They were tellin’ me to kill you, wanker. Didn’t wanna listen to it.”

There’s nothing for it but for them to start moving, try and figure out where they are as they’re on the move. Eggsy scans the surrounding area for anything that looks familiar. He’d memorized two or three maps of the place before setting out, but they hadn’t known about Poppy’s underground vault, and it’s near impossible to figure out where it would have let out.  

After nearly half an hour of making their way down the mountain, something snaps off to their left. Immediately, both of them are on the alert.

Eggsy raises his gun, and Harry drops into a defensive stance, boxer-like.

A slim figure emerges from the trees, and Eggsy nearly sobs in relief. “Rox!”

Looking largely uncertain, Roxy approaches. Her hand rests on her gun, but she doesn’t make any move to draw it, even when she spots Harry beside him. “Eggsy, what’s going on? Merlin said you’d both turned.”

“No, it ain’t like that,” Eggsy says quickly. They only have one shot to convince her, and he picks his words carefully. “Harry tricked all of us. He tricked Kingsman into thinkin’ he was a traitor, and he tricked Poppy into thinkin’ he was workin’ for her. But he’s still on our side, Rox, swear down. And, listen, Poppy’s got more supplies than we thought, Harry showed me. We know where it is, we can take care of it. But only,” Eggsy adds, “if you believe me.”

Roxy inhales deeply and exhales slowly. She reaches up to tap the side of her glasses. “Merlin. I’ve found them. They can help us.” She listens to something Harry and Eggsy can’t hear, then nods.

Eggsy tenses, ready to fight her if he has to. He meant it when he said he wasn’t letting Harry go again now that he’d gotten him back.

But Roxy just holds her hand out to them both, a smile playing at the edges of her lips. “Welcome back to Kingsman.”