Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/8037526. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Kingsman_(Movies) Relationship: Harry_Hart_|_Galahad/Gary_"Eggsy"_Unwin, Harry_Hart_|_Galahad/Merlin Character: Harry_Hart_|_Galahad, Gary_"Eggsy"_Unwin, Merlin_(Kingsman) Additional Tags: Omega_Verse, Shota, Extreme_Underage, Alpha_Harry, Incest, Parent/Child Incest, Voyeurism, Bedsharing, Non-Traditional_Alpha/Beta/Omega_Dynamics, Rape/Non-con_Elements, by_virtue_of_ABO_and_age_only, otherwise_within 'verse_it's_consensual, elements_'romanticized'_and_not_shown_as_a_bad thing, Happy_Ending Collections: Dark_Kingsman_Block_Party_Secret_Santa:_Summer_2016 Stats: Published: 2016-09-14 Chapters: 1/2 Words: 6448 ****** Another Heart To Love ****** by LeCoeurCommeUnArtichaud Summary Prompt: A/B/O Merlin and Harry are married. Eggsy is their biological son (carried by Merlin). Incest. Shota!Eggsy. They are a VERY close family. Eggsy sleeps in their bed from the time he is born. He watches them in all of their activities, though doesn't actively participate until he is 5. Notes This is about 2/3's finished. The final 1/3d will hopefully be done in a couple weeks or so. Some of you may know that life's been kicking me a bit hard lately. Sorry for the delay. Also, sorry for the sort-of cliffhanger I break this first 'chapter' off on. There is a happy ending coming, promise. “It’s getting close to that time, isn’t it?” Harry’s glasses slid down his nose as he looked over his newspaper at Merlin. His husband was sitting at the other end of the sofa, buried in something on his precious laptop and didn’t hear him. Little shit that he was, Harry reached out with his foot and poked Merlin’s thigh with his toes. Merlin jumped and glowered. “What d’ye want now? I cannae get a moment’s peace with you.” Harry chuckled. After nineteen years of marriage, he knew every one of Merlin’s moods and tones. This was a potentially serious one, but if Harry remembered his dates, and he always did, the reason his dearest was out of sorts was his impending heat. He left his question, which he knew Merlin had heard, hanging between them. Sitting the computer on the coffee table, Merlin sighed. “About that…” Harry sat up and slid closer, his posture opening, available to give comfort but not forcing it if unwanted. Merlin’s relationship with his heats was a rocky one.  “Yes, darling?” Merlin took a deep breath and sat upright. He put his hand on Harry’s leg and began rubbing little circles on his thigh. “What would ye say if I asked you to stay with me this time?” For a mated alpha and omega pair, Harry and Merlin had a very non-traditional relationship. It was one of the things that Harry loved about his mate. They were in love and that love had nothing to do with the mad biological imperative of heats and mating and breeding. Twice a year when Merlin went into heat, Harry absented himself from their home. It drove them both mad to be apart during this time, but they’d both decided they didn’t want to muddy their relationship with it. And most of all, Merlin did not want children. Harry tried to never let Merlin see what a hurt that had caused him. He understood completely, even though he often longed for a child. Being a parent was a different thing when one was an alpha. No one would expect Harry to give up his life, his career, his friends and co-workers. He would be able to have it all. Not so Merlin. Omegas who tried to work outside the home usually found it difficult. Few employers would hire an omega in the first place and even fewer still an omega parent. If one did manage to keep one’s job, there was the social ostracism, the never-ending criticism of one’s choice, and the guilt ingrained by society that if an omega worked, they were neglecting their primary duty as caregiver for their child. Working after an omega had a child was considered tantamount to child abuse. All sorts of horror stories about kids gone wrong were told about those horrible, neglectful omegas who thought more of themselves than of their mates and kids. Harry would never expect Merlin to give up everything he’d worked for, and Merlin knew it. But that internalized voice of ‘bad parent’ was there no matter what Harry said. So, soon after their marriage, Harry had simply stopped talking about children at all, and they’d begun separating during Merlin’s heats to avoid accidental pregnancy. Sure, there were heat suppressants and birth control, but both were black market and not 100% effective. And the few versions Merlin had tried caused side effects. “What do you mean?” Harry asked. “Yes, I have a great deal of self control, but I’m afraid…” Harry closed his eyes. “I could try, I suppose.” “No. That’s not it. I was thinking… If you’re still of a mind that is… I’m not getting any younger…” Merlin sucked in his lips. This wasn’t as easy to say as he’d hoped. “You said a long time ago that if we ever had kids, you wouldn’t want anything to change. Is that still true? I could continue on at Kingsman?” “Absolutely,” Harry said firmly. “If Arthur or anyone else tried to give you guff about it, they’d have to go through me. I guarantee, I won’t let them ‘daddy-track’ you.” Harry put his hand over Merlin’s, stopping the man’s nervous tracings. “Are you sure? We don’t have to do it this time. We can think about it. Talk about it all you want. Take your time. And darling, if you decide not to, you know that it’s you I love, not your ability to give me children.” “I know that Harry. Ye’ve been wonderful. More patient than any other alpha would be.” Harry interrupted him. “It’s not patience. It’s respect. I love you,” he repeated, punctuating his words with a squeeze of his hand. “You’re the best mate any alpha could have and any who wouldn’t see that isn’t deserving of you.” “But ye wouldnae be averse to the idea of having a wee bairn padding about, now would ye?” Merlin said smiling. “It’s something you’ve always wanted. No, no you’ve never pushed, but I know. Things are changing. There are more non-trads coming out every year. Sure, we’re getting a bit old for it, but you’ve always been one to thumb your nose at expectations and since I got the promotion to head of department…” Merlin shrugged. He smiled and slid closer to Harry, slipping his arm around his back. “Let me give ye this.” “I don’t know what I ever did to get so lucky as to have you.” Harry drew Merlin in for a kiss.   ~*~*~   Harry hadn’t been with anyone in active heat in years. He’d forgotten what an overwhelming experience it was. Merlin writhed on their bed, growling at him to ‘get on with it’. If it weren’t for the biological imperative taking him over, the utterly uncharacteristic behavior would have deflated him like a popped balloon. This was not how he thought of his husband. Merlin was strong, funny, creative, but always himself. Not this moaning, begging, pleading thing in front of him. Seeing his beloved this way, and seeing himself responding to it, disgusted him. He knelt down behind Merlin and gripped the other man’s hips in his hands, hard. Hard enough to keep him from pushing back onto Harry’s cock. Only to be cursed at for stopping. “Shhh, darling. Easy,” Harry cooed, partly at Merlin, partly at himself. “I promise that I will give you what you need. What you want. I promise you.” As Merlin relaxed, Harry felt confident enough to release his hold and stroke his side. “That’s it. Come back to me, Merlin, please. Stay with me.” Merlin groaned and collapsed his chest down onto the bed. When he was alone with his heats, he was fierce with his toys, mounting them and riding them hard until he achieved some sort of satisfaction. He never wanted to take it slow with a simple piece of rubber. He wanted it to hurt because underneath his urges, he hurt. Going through his heats alone was painful. Not physically, but emotionally. So he clamped down on those unwanted feelings and took his frustration out on his body until he couldn’t stand it anymore. Until he fell, covered in come and tears and dripping with his own slick, alone into a fitful sleep, only to have it all begin again after a few hours rest. But he wasn’t alone this time. Harry was with him. “Ye know what I need,” he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. “Yes, darling. I know, I know,” Harry said soothingly. He had himself under control now and sat back on his haunches between Merlin’s legs. He ran both his hands up Merlin’s side and leaned forward, smiling to himself, as he touched his tongue to a drop of the sweetness that ran down from his omega’s pulsing hole. He shuddered at the taste and his cock throbbed achingly. Instincts told him to stop messing about and TAKE what was rightfully his. Take and take and take and to hell with anything else. Merlin’s biologically opposite instinct would tolerate it, if not enjoy it. That is what the man was begging for, wasn’t it? The brute force of Harry’s alpha strength. A mindless fucking animal. Not a gentleman. Not even really human. It was hard not to blame Merlin for that. Especially seeing him as he was right then. Harry drew back and steadied himself. He looked down and tried hard to see the man he loved and not an omega in heat. “Shh love.” He crawled forward and covered Merlin’s back, wrapping him tightly in his arms. “I’m here. I’ll take care of you. I love you so much for doing this.” That was it. He needed to keep in mind what an amazing gift it was that Merlin was giving him. That as much as Harry disliked feeling out of control, so did his mate. They were alike in that. It was up to Harry to be a good Alpha, not just a brute. To care for and cherish the man he loved. To make this process as easy and pleasurable as he could. Remembering that, he could do this. Harry reached down between them and took his cock in hand, lining it up. Slick and hot, Merlin grabbed hold and pushed back at the first touch against his opening. Harry kept control and slipped in slowly, teasing with every inch until he was finally seated fully within. Then it was a matter of letting just enough of the beast out to satisfy them both while reining himself in enough to still feel in touch with his humanity. Touch helped. Not just fucking. Touching. Kissing. Caressing. He loved this man. They’d shared everything except this for the past nineteen years. There wasn’t anyone he was closer to, more compatible with. Before Merlin, there had only been one other who came close. An old school chum. They’d play-mated before, but when Rupert reached his presentation age and presented as an omega, all that changed. Whatever had been human in both of them disappeared. Whatever love they shared was gone. There was nothing but the raw animal mating instinct. After which, Rupert remained… different. Gone entirely was the boy Harry had fallen in love with, replaced by a simpering, mawkish omega who followed him around everywhere. The boy lost every one of his own likes or dislikes, resolving himself to parroting whatever Harry said. It was Harry’s rebellious phase, but Rupert hadn’t gone through one of his own. Harry liked that they were different, opposites. But suddenly they weren’t anymore. Rupert had hated popular music. Now, it was all he listened to. He’d turned his nose up at dressing anything less than perfectly, now he slouched around in jeans and jumpers to match Harry’s. It was like seeing a pale, imperfect reflection of himself everywhere he went. Whatever Harry had fallen in love with no longer existed. When time came for Rupert’s next heat, everyone assumed they’d be mated. That Harry would claim the boy who clung so hard to him. Which is why Harry jumped at the opportunity to become a Kingsman. He attacked the Galahad trials with the force of one being driven by the Devil. And he swore he’d never go with another omega for as long as he lived. Then he met Merlin. At first, he didn’t realize Merlin was an omega. Omegas, even the rare independent ones, didn’t act like that. Didn’t come right out and say, I don’t want kids, I don’t want to be a dad, I’m committed to my career and any alpha who doesn’t recognize that, isn’t for me. Omegas couldn’t fight or shoot a gun or abseil in behind enemy lines like that. Harry was instantly smitten. Even now, full-on in heat. Merlin wasn’t some doe-eyed weak-willed fresher at uni. He was a grown man, head of the tech department at Kingsman, and with a will of his own. Albeit that will was entirely devoted to cursing and shoving himself back onto Harry’s cock. Harry grinned and bit down hard on the back of Merlin’s neck. “That’s right. Fuck yourself on me. Show me what you want , not what you need. Take it from me.” Merlin yowled and managed to twist his leg up and around, knocking Harry back then straddling him, pinning him flat to the bed. Harry let him set the pace in every regard but one — Harry refused to let their mating be entirely centered on his cock. It made Merlin snap and fight, but Harry wouldn’t stop touching him. Wouldn’t stop talking to him both in filthy words that drove them both crazy and in reminding them of how much they both loved each other. “Shut…” Merlin nipped antagonistically at Harry’s throat “…the fuck…”  he ground himself down against Harry’s pelvis, yelling as he felt Harry’s knot begin to swell “…UP!” While he still could, Harry hurriedly switched their positions, pulling Merlin’s back to his front, wrapping him tightly in his arms and settling them on their sides. His long legs wrapped around Merlin’s stocky ones and he thrust in deeply, hard, grinding, until his knot had them bound together. For the first time, he truly lost himself, riding out the waves of his orgasm as he pumped his husband full of his seed. Merlin’s contented cooing brought him out of his fugue. “I’m so sorry, love,” Harry said, burying his face in shame in the middle of Merlin’s back. “Ye daft eejit,” Merlin said softly, reaching back and running his hand through Harry’s sweat-soaked mass of curls. Slowly Harry kissed up the knobs of Merlin’s spine, nuzzling against his neck, against the mating bite he’d put there years ago. “Are you all right?” “Mmm.” Merlin smiled, his eyes closed, and kissed Harry’s arm around him. “Perfect. You?” “Yes,” Harry lied. Merlin’s movements were languorous now, but constant. Little circles of his hips, slow rolls of his back, small thrusts of his tumescent cock into his own hand. He was teasing Harry and keeping him aroused like he would whenever they fucked not in heat. He knew what Harry liked. Now that he was satisfied, he could give it to him. He let Harry indulge his touch-hunger and Harry’s hands wandered. “I love you, you know,” Harry said. “I know.” “Whether or not we have children. That changes nothing.” “You’re an old fool, Harry Hart.” “Perhaps.” “Of course I know that nothing changes. I wouldnae consider this otherwise. I love you too, you know. And I know you want this.” “You don’t?” Harry asked hesitantly. Merlin shrugged. “It doesn’t matter as long as things stay the same. I’m not giving up my career.” “I don’t want you to. I mean that. If you even think about it, I’ll kick your arse.” Their conversation waned as another gentle orgasm passed between them. It would be like this for the rest of the night, desire rising and falling, as they remained locked together. By the time Harry’s knot would relax, he’d fill his mate four or five times, trapping the seed deep within Merlin, giving every opportunity for one of them to find their way up into his omega womb and implant. “With you on mission, who’s going to take care of the pup then,” Merlin asked. “Our child .” Gods, Harry hated that other term. They were not beasts. “Do you honestly think my father took care of me?” Harry laughed. “That’s what nannies are for. He had his figure to get back after all. Mother’s little trophy omega.” Harry winced at the bitterness in his voice. “Sorry,” he whispered into another kiss on Merlin’s back. “That’ll work,” Merlin said, twisting around and giving Harry a proper kiss. “And I know you,” he said, smiling. “For the next year you’ll be doing awt but pestering Arthur for near-home assignments.” “Do you mind?” “Not at all. I think that your paternal side is one of the many things I love about you.” “I do like taking care of you.” “Yes, well, sometimes I don’t mind much at all that you do,” Merlin smiled and began working them up to another orgasm.   ~*~*~   “I hate you Harry Hart!” “How long between contractions?” the midwife asked. Harry looked worried but checked his watch. “Two minutes forty five, since the last one.” “Epidural,” Merlin gasped, trying to pant through the pain. The midwife frowned. “Are you sure, lovey? You’ll miss the miracle of…” “Yes, I’m sure!” She looked to Harry. “I’ll need your permission, sir.” “Why? I’m not the one having the baby.” “Yes, but you’re his alpha…” “Give. Me. My. Epidural. You fuck!” Merlin bolted upright and made like he was going to throttle the well-meaning omega at his bedside. “I think you’d best do as my mate says,” Harry said with a proud, predatory grin. It took them a few minutes, and not without nasty looks between the staff, for the anesthesiologist to fit the catheter. “Are you sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable in the waiting room with the other Alphas?” Now it was Harry’s turn to want to throttle the midwife. A nurse waiting by the baby-warmer muttered, “Non-trads,” under her breath contemptuously. “I swear to fucking god if you tell me to breathe right now Harry…” “Hold your breath and turn purple for all I care, you stubborn prick,” Harry said sweetly and kissed Merlin on the top of his head. Merlin laughed and focused on his mate rather than the nonsense going on in the hospital room. As always, Harry was right there with him. “Fuck you, Harry,” Merlin said,  and reached up to cup Harry’s cheek. “I think we’d best wait a few weeks before you try any vigorous activity. But as soon as the doctor says you’re well enough…” The anesthesiologist’s eyes went wide. Merlin drifted in and out once the epidural began working. Finally, the doctor came in the room. “Mr. Hart?” He shook Merlin on the shoulder from where he’d fallen asleep. “Mr. Hart? It’s time to have your baby.” “ He’s Mr. Hart. I’m Mr. McAllister. But ye can call me Merlin,” Merlin said groggily. “Yes. Well. You’re fully dilated and it’s time we started pushing.” “We? Ye go right ahead and push all ye want laddie, but I dinnae think it’ll do awt good.” It went fast, as such things go, but by the time the little red thing came squirting out into the doctor’s hands and started to cry, Merlin was exhausted, sweating, and leaning heavily across the railing onto Harry’s arm. The doctor held the little boy up and out towards Harry. As the alpha, it was up to him to accept or reject the baby. If there could’ve been any doubt, it disappeared the moment Harry laid eyes on his and Merlin’s son. He took the baby from the doctor immediately and bent down to place it in Merlin’s arms. A nurse came to the other side and helped to bundle him up in a blanket. “He’s perfect, darling,” Harry said, entranced as the baby opened his eyes and blinked up at him. “Perfect.” “Uh huh,” Merlin yawned. “I love ye,” he said as he passed the bundle to Harry and rolled onto his side, drifting off again as soon as he was sure Harry had hold of their baby. The nurse tried to take the baby from Harry’s arms, only to have Harry hold him tighter and closer and bare his teeth instinctively at the intruder. “Sir, there are things we need to do. Measure him, weigh him, injections…” “Injections? Won’t they hurt?” “Only for a moment.” The nurse kept her hands outheld. “But they’re essential for his health. Vaccinations.” “Right, right,” Harry nodded and started walking to the door. He looked back at the stunned nurse. “Where are we headed?” “We have an incubator here…” “Is there something wrong with him?” “No, he has a perfect ten on the APGAR, sir, but there are procedures…” Harry nestled Gareth — after his great grandfather’s position as an original Kingsman — closer to his chest. “Well then lead on, because you’re not taking him.”   ~*~*~   Harry took six months paternity leave. Arthur sputtered and choked and mocked him, but he insisted. He hadn’t had a day’s worth of non-medically-ordered down time since he was 20. He was owed. Every decision either he or Merlin made was second guessed and subject to “well meaning” advice via some busy-body’s drive-by parenting. Gareth would be bottle fed from the start, which fetched them both a guilt-ridden lecture about how that would lead to everything from improper bonding to crib death AND WORSE!!! (“Worse than death?” Harry laughed.) Harry bore the criticisms well until they began to be directed to Merlin, then he became fierce in his no-nonsense defense of his mate. If anyone had objections as to how Gareth was being raised, they were to be brought up to him. He was the alpha, after all. It was the only time in their entire relationship that Harry had asserted himself as such, and quietly Merlin was grateful. When Merlin returned to HQ after the six-week minimum required leave, there was more buzzing. Arthur had begun the search for his replacement, despite having been assured that he would be back. Fortunately Harry intervened again, this time via phone from home, little Gareth sleeping away in his baby sling as Harry called in every debt Arthur owed him. Harry wanted a beta for a nanny. Six agencies told him in no uncertain terms that he was making a mistake, and wouldn’t it be better to have the pup’s mum come in to handle the arrangements? “The child has two fathers ,” Harry insisted as he walked out the door and headed to the next on his list. The nanny he hired was a young beta boy, Mitchell. He was barely out of secondary school, but eager for a job and the eldest of a large working-class family. It would be a day only position, with the occasional nights when Harry was travelling for work. The compensation promised more than made up for the inconvenience. Harry paid him at least three times the going rate, with the added stipulation that the non-traditional nature of his and Merlin’s relationship be kept strictly private. Merlin had enough to deal with, without petty neighborhood gossip added to the list. For those six months, Harry was in heaven. He arranged his schedule to suit the baby’s, rising when little Gareth did, sleeping when he napped, and carrying him around in his sling at all other times. More than once he got mistaken for an omega while out doing the shopping. He laughed it off. Nothing anyone could say to him would take the bloom off of these first precious moments. He did worry that Merlin might become jealous of their child. The omega books he read warned that often alphas became jealous of the time that the omega parent spent with a new baby. There was little else to go by. Every book ever written about childrearing went from vaguely traditional to downright repressive. Harry cringed at some of the suggestions and illustrations. He remembered the ridiculous modesty body-coverings that his father had to wear whenever he left the house, yet within it, his mother rarely allowed her mate to be covered at all. While the last time he’d been coerced up to the family estate his parents had moved slightly ahead with the times, their lives were nothing at all like his and Merlin’s. He prided himself that he had endured his mother’s lectures for a full day before finally telling her to fuck off and leave his mate alone. Like hell she’d be getting a baby notice or be allowed anywhere within ten kilometers of his family. The thought of it made his hackles raise and full-on protective alpha instincts come to the fore. He’d murder her outright before letting her get one wheedling little word in about his son or husband’s choices in life. Harry needn’t have worried about Merlin being jealous. He was relieved that Harry bonded so easily and fully with Gareth. While he was recuperating, Merlin appreciated the peace and quiet of having Harry taking care of the baby’s needs. Then after he went back to work, Merlin found he actually enjoyed coming home to spend an hour or two playing with the baby before supper. Without the overwhelming pressure to be everything to a child, he could see the attraction of having one. It took him longer than most, perhaps, but he did fall in love with his son. Once a week, even though Harry wasn’t working, he let Mitchell stay in the guest room to take care of Gareth through the night while he and Merlin had some alone time. Soon, Harry was back at work and they fell into their post- leave routines. The only routine that irked Merlin just a little was that the bed meant for two had become a bed for three. Even on Saturday nights. The first Saturday, Merlin found Harry asleep beside Gareth’s crib, hand reached up between the bars, the baby’s tiny hand wrapped around one of Harry’s long fingers. The second Saturday found Gareth out of the crib entirely, curled up on the nursery rug in Harry’s arms. After that, Merlin gave up on the idea of sleeping alone with his husband. They went to the shops on Sunday and bought a king sized bed that nearly filled the bedroom but left plenty of room for all three to sleep comfortably. Work and childrearing left little time for love-making. Harry was still affectionate, and Merlin indulged him, but theirs was a maturing relationship. The few hours they had alone on Saturday nights, along with the occasional moment grabbed at the office, satisfied them both. And should the urge hit at other times, it was simple enough to move Gareth to the other side of the bed once the baby — quickly becoming a toddler — was asleep.   ~*~*~   Harry giggled after Gareth giggled, laughed after he laughed. “Aren’t you the clever little boy,” he said, stepping slightly back and watching as Gary, aged 18 months, reached down between his legs and made a discovery when Harry was changing his diaper. Gary babbled and sighed and touched. “That’s right. It feels good, doesn’t it.” Harry couldn’t help smiling at his son’s self-discovery. Though his eyes went wide with surprise as the lad’s tiny penis stiffened slightly. “Hmm… didn’t know that happened,” he muttered to himself. Gary broke out into a wide grin and rubbed some more. Cautious about giving the lad some sort of shameful complex about something so innocent, Harry let Gary explore his body until he became bored with doing so, then he finished diapering the lad and they went downstairs. “What’s for breakfast?” “Eggsys!” Gary said cheerfully, as he did every morning since he’d started on solid food. “Not pancakes?” “Eggsys!” he insisted. “Cereal,” Harry insisted. “EGGSYS!” Gary said, pouting out his bottom lip. Harry laughed. “All right, Eggsy. Eggsys it is.”   ~*~*~ “Harry,” Merlin hissed, putting his hand on Harry’s head, stopping the immensely pleasurable sensation his husband was giving him with his mouth. “Hmm?” Harry looked up, blinking. “He’s watching.” Harry looked over at where Eggsy was lying on his pillow. Bright blue-green eyes looked at him and smiled. Harry couldn’t help smiling back before kissing the tip of Merlin’s prick again. “HARRY!” Merlin hissed more insistently this time. Harry shrugged. “If we ignore it, he’ll get bored and roll over and go to sleep. If we fuss, he’ll feel he’s done something wrong and be ashamed of himself.” It made a sort of psychological sense, Merlin thought. He closed his eyes and focused on Harry, trying to pretend that there weren’t a pair of fascinated eyes watching them in the darkened room.   ~*~*~   “Kiss, papa,” Eggsy said when he was three and Harry was changing him. Harry bent down and put a kiss on his son’s forehead. “KISS, papa!” Eggsy insisted again. Harry repeated the gesture. Eggsy pushed his diaper away. “Kiss, papa!” he said and touched himself. It had been a few weeks since he and Merlin had first caught Eggsy watching them make love. It had happened several times since, with different activities and positions, but each time, Eggsy was ignored and soon lost interest, so neither of them thought about it again. “Kiss?” Eggsy said again, his bottom lip trembling with uncertainty. Harry couldn’t stand to see his little boy doubting himself, afraid he’d asked for a bad thing, so Harry bent down and put a quick little kiss on the top of Eggsy’s penis. Eggsy smiled and they finished their morning dressing routine.   ~*~*~   Eggsy turned four and the waiting list they’d put him on for a nearby Kensington dayschool opened up. “Eggsy?” “Yes papa?” “There’s something about da and me you need to know.” Eggsy grinned and sat down. He loved his papa’s lessons and how focused Harry was on him during them. “Your da’s an omega. You know what that is right? You’re a bright boy and you remember our lessons.” Eggsy nodded enthusiastically. “I grew inside da’s tummy as a present for you.” “That’s right. The very best present,” Harry said, smiling. “But you also know that not every alpha and omega live like da and I do.” “Charlie’s papa calls his da mummy. And his da stays at home all day and eats chocolates and is sad.” Harry chuckled. “That’s right. Because Charlie’s da and papa are traditionalists. Most alphas and omegas are. It’s frightfully dull and ordinary, but it’s how most people are. And people like that don’t always approve of people like your da and me.” “They’re poopyheads.” “Indeed they are. But a gentleman never tells someone else that they’re a poopyhead. Even when they are. Especially when they are.” Eggsy listened very closely. Papa’s ‘gentleman’ lessons were always important. “That’s why we don’t talk about what goes on inside our house with people outside our house.” Eggsy nodded seriously. “And because you’re a superspy and daddy’s a wizard.” Harry laughed. Thank goodness for cartoons and their ‘superspy’ episodes. “Yes, that too. It’s very important that we have our secrets. Even moreso now that you’re going to school.” “School?” Eggsy’s bottom lip quivered. “Of course. You’re a big boy and you need to go to school so you can learn to be a superspy or a wizard when you grow up.” He paused. “It’s going to be hard knowing what is a secret and what isn’t. Anything that is just about you, you can share if you want to. Anything that is about da or me, you have to remember our story that we work in a tailor shop downtown.” “Do I have to…” Eggsy hesitated. “Have to what, darling?” “Sleep in a big boy bed like Charlie does?” Tears welled up at the corners of Eggsy’s eyes. Harry gathered the boy in his arms. “Of course not, Eggsy. Although you might not want to tell Charlie or the other children that you don’t. We’ll buy you a big boy bed for your room so that when your friends come to visit they won’t know.” Eggsy hugged Harry tightly about the neck. “Thank you papa!” He kissed Harry on the cheek but then slobbered open-mouthed on Harry’s lips. Harry’s eyes went wide and Eggsy pulled back. Afraid he’d done something wrong, his bottom lip quivered again. Harry smiled. “It’s all right, Eggsy. You simply startled me. That’s not how we kiss. Messy.” He scrunched up his face and Eggsy laughed. “Kiss?” Eggsy held his arms out. “All right.” Harry gathered Eggsy into his lap and kissed him, closed-mouthed on the lips. Eggsy scrunched up his face like Harry had and pouted. Harry chuckled. “Oh very well.” Eggsy grinned and pursed his lips, his eyes closed, trying to do his best imitation of his da, like he had watched at night. At first it was awkward, but Harry touched his lips to Eggsy’s and Eggsy opened like a flower, drawing him into the honey-sweetness of his mouth. Harry knew the kiss went on far too long — he felt the boy squirming in his lap, rubbing himself up against the seam of his trousers — but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away. Not when the little darling began to softly suck on the tip of his tongue. “Oh my sweetling.” Harry held Eggsy close against his chest and felt the boy nuzzle against his neck, instinctively seeking out his scent gland. He rubbed soft circles into Eggsy’s back, soothing him, drawing him into the comfort found there. “My precious one. Of all the secrets we have, you mustn’t ever tell this one.” Eggsy pulled back, his eyes a bit glazed, and nodded. “Yes papa,” he said and leaned back against Harry, nuzzling again.   ~*~*~   At first, Harry hadn’t realized he was doing it. Once he did, it had to be handled very carefully, so as not to make Merlin suspicious. Eggsy would watch them for a little while, then pretend to fall asleep. If he actually did fall asleep — it was difficult not to while lying so still — Harry would ‘accidentally’ brush against his leg or his arm to wake him without Merlin noticing. During the course of their love-making, which was occurring more frequently now that Eggsy was more attentive, Harry would manage to position his and Merlin’s bodies for Eggsy’s viewing. When he’d come home from work early and send Mitchell off for the night, before Merlin would come home, Harry and Eggsy would snuggle. He’d give the boy a few soft kisses and let him nuzzle in the comfort of his neck while telling Harry about his day at school. It was only natural to answer when the lad had questions. “Why does da like you to put your peepee in him?” “Why does da like to kiss you like that?” “Why do you make that sound when da…” Harry answered all Eggsy’s questions accurately, with both the technical terms and the slang ones. “Why do we have to go to a hotel sometimes?” “Ah. That’s because da and I don’t want any more babies. We already have the perfect one.” Harry smiled. “Da goes into heat every six months. If we have sex during that time, we would make another baby.” “Oh.” Eggsy pursed his lips and fell deep into thought. “I don’t want another baby.” He grinned. “I’m your baby.” Harry laughed. “Yes you are. Always. Even when you’re big and grown.” “And will you always kiss me?” Eggsy asked shyly. “As long as you want me to. If you ever don’t want me to, all you have to do is ask and I’ll stop because I love you.” Eggsy nodded. “An’ if I want you to?” Harry drew Eggsy close and kissed him. “Then I shall kiss you as best I know how because I love you. Either way, I love you.” They were sitting on the sofa, kissing deeply, hands wandering through rumpled clothing, when the front door opened. Merlin cleared his throat and Harry jumped. Eggsy looked over at Merlin with that muzzy, glazed look he had and smiled. “Hi da.” Merlin grunted and headed upstairs, shooting a parting look at Harry. “Darling?” Eggsy blinked slowly. “Da and I need to talk about work. Will you play downstairs for a little while?” “All right papa,” Eggsy said, clambering off Harry’s lap. Harry went upstairs and shut the office door behind him. Merlin was waiting for him in the soundproofed room. “What the fuck, Harry?” Merlin was surprised at how little anger there was in his voice. He knew there should be more, but he just couldn’t muster the proper degree of outrage or surprise. Harry fixed himself a drink and sat in the corner chair. “Curiosity?” he proposed. “That explains him.” “I haven’t an explanation,” he said, draining his glass. “But I’ve never done anything he hasn’t asked for or initiated.” He stared up, his eyes flashing. “And I would die before I hurt him, you know that!” Merlin leaned back, half-sitting on Harry’s desk. “The reason I’m not more upset, I suppose.” Harry refilled his glass and held an empty up towards Merlin. Merlin nodded and Harry filled it, passing it to him. “You two have always had a special bond, something I could never touch,” Merlin said, mostly to himself. “I love you,” Harry argued. “I’m not saying you don’t. You simply love him more.” “Differently,” Harry said quietly. Silence fell between them. “What are you going to do?” “Nothing.” Harry cocked an eyebrow. “You’re not hurting him. He’s happy. You’re happy.” Merlin shrugged. “ I’m happy. Is there something I should do?” “I swear to you, I will never hurt him.” “Then why should anything change?” Harry blinked and shook his head in disbelief. “Look, do you know how difficult these past few years have been for me? You do your best to protect me from it, but I hear it nonetheless. And I know you get the criticisms too. Yet you’ve stuck by me. You’ve nae asked me to change awt because I’m an omega. You could’ve. You could’ve insisted; it was within your rights legally and morally. You could’ve forced me. Even made me want it, at least while it was happening. But you didn’t. You’ve always, always , respected that I’m different. Why shouldn’t I respect that you’re… different?” Harry pursed his lips, seeing a sort of twisted logic in it. Merlin continued, “Is it children?” “No! Not ever. Never before.” “Then it’s him. You’re in love with him.” Merlin smiled. “I know what that’s like. Why should I deny him your love? Do you think I dinae see the look on his face? That I don’t know what that look is? That I haven’t felt that same smile on my own? You’re an easy man to fall in love with Harry Hart. Hell to live with, but easy to love.” Merlin paused. “You’ll let him go when he’s grown up? If he wants to?” “ When he wants to,” Harry corrected. “ If . I could never let you go, I doubt he will either. Not easily, anyroads.” “He’ll figure out how different it is. How wrong. He’ll learn to hate me one day.” Merlin shrugged. “Not if I can help it. I’ll protect him, same as you do me.” “He’ll still hear it, same as you do.” “His decision to make then, don’t you think?” Tears came to Harry’s eyes as he nodded. Merlin crossed to him and rubbed his shoulders. “Get yourself together. Eggsy and I will start dinner.” Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!