bakerstreet | Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime.

He's glad for Eggsy's instincts- it means he won't frown at him, ask him why he's moving to such a dark, quiet part of the place instead of in the middle of everyone else. It puts him at ease, and he waits for Eggsy to come back with his drink (coffee, because he's driving, and because he needs a kick that doesn't involve alcohol).

When he's back Tommy smiles, and for a very brief moment his fingers touch Eggsy's, right as the coffee changes hands. He's not flushing, Jesus, he's a grown man.

"How long've you been with the company, then?" He's trying to smooth it over, distract Eggsy from the look on his face.

"....about a year," he says. "I was up for Roxy's job," no need to further identify their only female agent, "but obviously it went to her. But then, you know - V-Day happened, made a few gaps."

They have to speak fairly euphemistically in public but he can't say he likes talking about Harry's death that way.

"So that's me. They've just about stopped droppin' their monocles in their tea when I open my mouth."

He snorts out a laugh, looks up at Eggsy with faint delight in his eyes. It neatly distracts him from the deep ache V-Day has left in most of the world's population.

"Used to have to go through the servant's entrance, me, all the way 'round the back. Your old boss was a prick."

No need to lie about that anymore- he caught enough snippets of what he'd done to know Eggsy won't mind him saying so.

Not for nothing do people call him Mordred - behind his back, like he's physically capable of giving a shit.

"He was. Fuck him. The king is dead," he says faux-gravely, lifting his glass in a toast. "Long live the king."

He takes a sip of Coke, eyes gleaming over the top of the glass. (The servants' entrance, Jesus, they're a century past Downton.)

He offers Tommy a menu.

"So, family business. There a lot of you?"

He outright laughs at that, lifting his coffee cup and setting it back down with a slight rattle. God, he's glad he has a sense of humor too.

"Three brothers and a sister- plus me aunt, who lives in the same house. And, uh-- John has four children. So it's a bit crowded." To say the least.

Eggsy looks utterly delighted by Tommy laughing - makes no attempt whatsoever to hide it. He's so fucking charmed it ought to be embarrassing.

"Yeah, no kidding. Jesus, I can't imagine - it's just my mum and my sister, and she's only a toddler." But his voice goes soft, and there's clearly nothing he treasures in the world like the two women in his life.

"Have you, uh - got kids?" No ring on his finger but that doesn't mean anything in this day and age. Just because Tommy's maybe a little taken with him, doesn't mean he's single.

He doesn't even realize he'd kept a mental list until he practically feels himself put a tick in the box next to treasures family. Tommy's in his thirties, now, and he knows what he wants out of a partner even if he doesn't exactly try to get one.

"No kids, and neither the plans nor means to have them in the near future." Because he wants to make sure Eggsy knows he's very, very single.

"Well, if you did have the means I'd be in for a shock," Eggsy jokes, then immediately realises what he's just fucking said. He feels his face go hot.

"I mean - oh, Jesus, that's not what I meant," he says lamely, and it's made worse by the fact that that kind of is what he meant. "Shit. Sorry."

He hides his smile behind his coffee cup, but it does a very poor job of it- his eyes still twinkle, and he accidentally knocks his foot into Eggsy's- Christ, he's in, he really is.

"It isn't?"

Honesty is the best policy, Eggsy.

The stupid thing is that if this was work, he'd be well in. Point him at a mark and he'll be a force of nature. Irresistible. He can do whatever takes, be whoever it takes, for Kingsman or his family. Trying to get stuff for himself...

That's harder.

"I've never done this before," he says, a lot of the gloss abruptly knocked off him, and that has to represent both 'yes, it is' and 'I'm scared as fuck'.

Eggsy'd picked a booth, and as such it's fairly easy for Tommy to scoot a little closer, just enough so that he can feel Eggsy's body heat- close enough to touch, but not touching just yet.

"I don't do this either, Eggsy. It's been years since-"

Since he's had anyone he's even been interested in like this, so slowly and happily. His stomach tightens a little, but he summons a smile for Eggsy, heartfelt. "So we'll figure it out together, eh?"

Eggsy smiles back, and this time it's his foot nudging Tommy's.

"Yeah, alright. Together."

And those few words settle a lot of what's inside him that's feeling twisted and strange. It's a date now. Officially an actual date. Which is...fine. Yeah. It's fine.

"...okay then. Think I've stopped feeling like I'm about to puke, so, let's get somethin' to eat?"

He grins, has to physically restrain himself from reaching out and trying to fit his thumb into the crease next to Eggsy's mouth. Instead he looks at the menu; orders something simple and filling, and another coffee to go with it.

"What did you do before Kingsman, Eggsy?"

"Honestly? Fuck-all. I -- " He laughs. "Every fuckin' time the Tories talk about the Youth Of Today bein' a drain on society? Petty crime, drugs, benefits - that was me, that was what I did."

He's not this open around anyone at work except Roxy; Tommy, he doesn't feel a need to censor himself with. Even though this is a date now - no, because they're on a date now. If he's offering himself up then he doesn't want to lie about what's there, and Tommy's in the almost unique position of being able to hear almost everything.

"Proper juvenile delinquent. Literally hired out of Holborn cop shop - mate of my dad's thought he'd give me an apprenticeship, like, since there was that position going."

"That was nice of him," he comments, leaning back a little, getting comfortable- he intends to make a proper night of it now, and he doesn't want to be on his guard for it.

"I've been there, meself. The- petty crime, not the apprenticeship." He gives a rueful little grin.

"Oh yeah?" Eggsy smirks and leans in a little bit, curious now. "Didn't have the family firm keepin' you on the straight and narrow, then?"

"No, I think the army did that." He says it as if he's just thinking of it now, as if he hasn't considered this quite often.

"It wasn't much. Just me and two of me brothers, on the streets, causing a ruckus."

Eggsy beams. 'Causing a ruckus' - sounds benign, could have been more or less innocent - who did a bit of shoplifting and vandalism ever hurt? Fuck knows what's hiding behind those words, really.

"Bet you was terrors, wasn't ya. No wonder we've, ah." He smiles nervously, now. "Gravitated."

God, when he looks like that, nervous and innocent, Tommy just wants to lean in and taste him. It also makes him look younger, and that's a little weird for Tommy, so he tries to shake that off.

"Nature of terrors everywhere, to gravitate towards each other when surrounded by stuffy rich folk."

"Yeah. Us gutter trash got to stick together, don't we."

It's nice, more comfortable more quickly than Eggsy feared or would be. He doesn't feel like he's performing or pretending to be something he isn't in the interests of getting his end away - honestly, he's barely thinking about his furtive nocturnal escapades - instead, he feels like he's actually being the person he is. Often not quite so much as he is when he's at HQ.

By the time they're done eating - Eggsy picks up the bill without discussion - he's feeling very warm, and very good, and just - so pleased by how well and how smoothly this has all gone.

Which is just as well, because he knows he's about to risk fucking it up all over again.

"I could get you another coffee, since you're driving," he says, then glances away for a tick, then back at him. "Are you -- still gonna be driving?"

He honestly seems to consider it for a second, biting his lip and looking at Eggsy's bright eyes, but in the end he shakes his head regretfully. He so wishes he could, even if it was only to give Eggsy a kiss on his doorstep, if only if he could have a pint with him somewhere nice and warm.

But: "Appointment early tomorrow morning, can't let anyone else handle it." And this, too, is important for Eggsy to understand about Tommy's life: he's busy, and he has a lot of responsibility, and he has a hard time considering his own interests when making choices on how to fill his time. He immediately bites his lip again, scoots a little closer.

"But I'll be here again next week, for the weekend. We could--?"

Eggsy nods - disappointed, obviously, but without reservation or a hint of complaint. God, he understands that. Not many lines of work in which anyone could possibly understand better, really.

"Yeah. That's - so long as I don't get sent out. That'd be great." He's smiling. As much as he'd have liked to spend a bit more time with him tonight, he won't turn down a second date either. "Here, give us your phone number - I'll text you so you'll have mine."

Tommy prefers it this way, anyway: not out of any sense of outdated chivalry, but because he wants to give Eggsy some time to think about this, get rid of his nerves, consider whether he minds the age difference.

He gives him his number (the private one, obviously), and curls a hand around Eggsy's wrist when he's texting.

"I- I had a really lovely time, Eggsy. I hope next week works out for both of us."

Eggsy looks up, abruptly, at the hand on his wrist, and smiles, face flushing like he's never had anyone touch him like that before. (He hasn't, really - not like this, gentle, undemanding.) Jesus, he feels like a teenager, only he didn't do any of this shit when he was a teenager.

He deletes his text and replaces it with: I had a really lovely time too. :)

"Y-yeah, I - I hope so too."

It doesn't.

They arrange a date in the city, only then Eggsy has to get called away to replace another agent on short notice. They again, and then it's Tommy who has the sort out some equipment malfunction disaster back up in Birmingham. The third date they don't have is because Eggsy has the flu, of all the inane fucking things. They keep things up by text when they can, simple little exchanges about how their days were, but obviously that's only practical sometimes.

It gets to be six weeks since their first date, by the time Eggsy's back at work, and he thinks: no fucking chance is Tommy going to still be interested. This is too much fucking bother for him; if he's ever going to have a boyfriend then surely it'll have to be someone closer to home, someone who won't be this fucking work. Eggsy feels like he's not worth the trouble, and that makes him so miserable that even Merlin notices.

And then he almost literally runs into Tommy at HQ, just as he's heading towards the underground levels and Tommy is heading up into the manor house.

"Shit - oh - Tommy." Shit. He smiles, genuine, but very wobbly. "Um. Hi."

The thing is that Tommy's gone years without a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or any kind of friend, really. He's patient, and he likes Eggsy, and he's too busy to really consider anyone else. It's frustrating that they keep missing each other, but mostly because he likes Eggsy, wishes he could see more of him.

He thought they couldn't see each other this time, either, had interpreted a lack of texts over the past few days as an indication that Eggsy was out of the country. So when Eggsy bumps into him (and he has to steady him with both hands on his forearms, and he can feel how strong his arms are, and that's very pleasant) he looks very happily surprised.

"Eggsy- I didn't know you were back, how are you?"

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