Chapter Text
“One hour,” Merlin said briskly as he pushed Eggsy and Roxy out of his office. “Then I’ll meet you two for dinner.”
They both turned to face him and planted their feet just outside the door. Roxy wagged a finger at him. “We’ll hold you to that.”
Eggsy gave a toothy, cheeky grin. “Yeah, just cause you’re Arthur now doesn’t mean we won’t come back to get ya.”
Merlin mouth twitched in amusement but he didn’t let a full smile slip through. “One hour,” he repeated and shut the door in their faces.
Roxy and Eggsy turned to each other and smirked. He shrugged. “We’ve got an hour to kill. What do you want to do?”
Roxy took Eggsy’s arm. She grinned. “Let’s go to the rec room and I’ll beat your arse in Mortal Kombat.”
Eggsy laughed. “Them is fightin’ words.”
“I’m unstoppable as Raiden.”
“No, I’m Raiden.”
Roxy suddenly shoved Eggsy back and then took off running. “Whoever gets there first gets to be Raiden.”
Eggsy tore after her, still laughing. “Don’t you know Santa’s watching, you naughty girl?”
“All’s fair in love and Mortal Kombat. Santa knows that.” Roxy threw over her shoulder.
They ran down the halls, Eggsy hot on Roxy’s heels but she still beat him to the rec room by a step. She smirked at him and pointed down to her shoes. “In heels too.”
Eggsy rolled his eyes and playfully shoved her. “You cheated.”
Roxy’s eyes twinkled. “Did not and you can’t prove anything.”
The room was decorated for Christmas with lights and garlands and a tree in one corner. They continued to playfully nudge each other as they settled on the couch with their controllers and cans of cola. She made a show of choosing Raiden from the character screen.
“Fine. I’ll be Scorpion,” Eggsy said as if making a great concession. He slipped his shoes off to display his bright red and green Christmas tree socks. He put his feet up on the coffee table and wiggled his toes. “What do ya think?”
Roxy chuckled. “They’re certainly festive. Ready?”
“Bring it.”
They evenly split the first four matches. The only sounds in the room were of them pressing buttons and cursing at their fighters.
Eggsy stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on Scorpion’s moves. He threw his hands up in disgust when he dropped the next two games. He peeked at Roxy. “Listen,” he started tentatively, “are you sure about me, Mum, and Daisy coming to your family for Christmas?”
Roxy smiled warmly. “Of course. It’ll be great to have you. Mummy and Daddy are looking forward to meeting you.”
“There will be enough space?”
“The house is huge, Eggsy. My brother, Roddy, and his family are coming. We’ll still have room to spare.” Roxy lightly elbowed him and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I was thinking of kidnapping Merlin so he doesn’t work through the holiday. The man needs a break.”
Eggsy rubbed the back of his neck. “I know. I’ve been thinking about that.”
Roxy giggled. “Thinking about getting him under the mistletoe.”
Eggsy’s face flushed and he suddenly averted his eyes. “No. I was thinking about doing something special for him.”
Roxy leered. “How about waiting for him in bed, wearing nothing but a bow and a smile. That would be really special, something he’d never forget.”
“Rox,” Eggsy whined. He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m being serious here. Are you gonna help me or not?”
Roxy patted his shoulder and took his arm before he could stand and start pacing. Her smile gentled. “Of course. What do you have in mind?”
Eggsy still didn’t meet her eyes. “Well, he won’t talk about it, but I know he’s missing his family.”
Roxy nodded. “I’ve seen the pictures on his desk. His father and his sister and her family right?”
“Yeah. His Da lives in Glasgow and his sister, Fiona, lives in Toronto.” Eggsy briefly looked at Roxy. “I’ve been…uh…”
Roxy put an arm around him. “You’ve been…” she prompted gently.
Eggsy leaned into Roxy. “I’ve sorta been emailing her,” he admitted.
Roxy grinned. “How did you get her email address?”
“Percival helped me with that.” Eggsy expression was half impressed and half afraid. “I didn’t ask about his methods.”
Roxy kissed the top of Eggsy’s head. “Wise call.”
Eggsy pulled back just enough to see her face. “Anyway, now that the airlines are operating again, she and her family are coming as a surprise,” he said and watched her anxiously for her reaction.
Roxy’s answering smile was huge. “Wonderful.”
“You don’t think I overstepped?”
Roxy affectionately smacked him in the back of the head. “No. What do you need from me?”
Eggsy laughed and pretended to cower. “They’ll be coming in two days. Can you pick them up and take them to their hotel?”
Roxy huffed and waved that off. “We’re not putting Merlin’s family in a hotel. We’re kidnapping him and they can all come to the house.”
“Oh, Rox, shouldn’t you check with your parents first?”
“The more, the merrier. What about his Da?”
Eggsy shrugged. “I was gonna call him but Fiona said it would be better if I drove there in person. I’m off up there tomorrow.”
Roxy hugged him tightly. “This is so sweet, Eggsy. If Merlin can’t tell that you’re in love with him, he’s blind, deaf, and dumb.”
Eggsy just blushed a deeper shade of red in response.