Chapter Text
At first, Harry had refused.
It had been hard to explain his reservations, though. As the leader and one of the most experienced and skilled members of his team for undercover work, both his team and Arthur were taken aback.
The truth was, while he had occasionally shied away from operations that felt too difficult to immerse himself in, this time the issue was the opposite: he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to return to his normal life after experiencing it.
Because his cover was to be a waiter/sailor on a cruise ship.
A gay cruise.
For all his life, Harry had been living a lie. A life of swallowing (ha ha ha) his desires and needs, pretending to be the eternal womanizer, the Peter Pan persona stitched onto him. Spending a week, maybe longer, openly living a sexuality his father and later DADT had forced him to suppress... it would be devastating to go back to pretending that Ginger’s breasts were more interesting than Charlie’s ass.
In the end, however, he relented. They needed someone who knew the sea and the ship. Someone skilled with knots, blades, and sneaking around.
And that someone was him.
In his old naval academy duffle bag, dug out for the occasion, were clothes he had never dared to even glance at in store windows... along with a healthy dose of panic, tempered only by an unmistakable eagerness to begin.
*****
After leaving home—or rather, after his coming out and the subsequent kicking out that followed—Eggsy had put his romantic and sexual life on hold for the next couple of years. It was ironic: after a life undercover, he hadn’t immediately embraced freedom and indulgence. But he couldn’t afford to: he was no longer in a phase of life where he could sleep around recklessly. He had finally become a detective, and work had to be his priority.
So, he stayed single and threw himself into his career, accepting a move across the country and a job beneath his skill set just to join a team. A team filled with people he couldn’t stand—except for Roxy.
Roxy, who had insisted on being his partner, fiercely defended him against everyone, broke through his defenses, and decided to become his best friend.
One day, about a month prior, she had pulled him aside over a cheeseburger and given him a little partner-to-partner talk.
Roxy knew. Eggsy had no idea how—maybe she’d overheard a colleague, maybe her gaydar was better than his—but she knew.
And it was Roxy who had left the cruise brochure for him to find. Girls today were nothing like the ones from his youth, that was for sure.
And so, with his heart in his throat, Eggsy booked a cabin, expecting disaster far more than a lightning strike of fate.
****
Harry had adapted quickly. He was used to leading teams, giving instructions, but also following orders.
He’d had the chance to review the resumes of all the workers and even glance through the names of the cruise passengers, but nothing stood out.
On the other hand, it seemed that he stood out to someone.
More than one person had noticed him, and a few had even approached him.
But one in particular was clearly watching him from a distance—not in the overt way the other cruisers did.
It was a brown-haired guy, half his age, who seemed rather reserved and kept to himself—a behavior that, in a ship designed for hookups, was suspicious in itself.
The informant had warned them about a shipment of drugs being smuggled using the cruise, and Harry was supposed to be on the lookout for that... but, Christ, there were so many men onboard.
And he’d noticed the guy. How could he not, with those shoulders, those hips, that ass... and those eyes.
But Harry had immediately figured out that he had nothing to do with the case, and he was nothing if not dutiful.
Dutifully, every night, he went out with one of the crew members—or one of the guests.
And found ways to sneak into their cabins, their drawers, their closets... by whatever means necessary.
*****
Meanwhile, Eggsy had mustered up the courage to approach a couple of people... but without success.
Not that he couldn’t have gone through with it if he’d wanted to.
But he had nothing in common with them, and the idea of hooking up just for the sake of it... left him feeling a little queasy.
To Harry, it was endearing. And Merlin, from his recordings and reports, kept insisting that Harry should approach the brown-haired guy because he was strange and suspicious, and even if he had nothing to do with the drugs, there was something to uncover.
In the end, that was what brought him to Eggsy’s table.
Eggsy, who was currently wondering what was wrong with him and why he’d let himself be talked into this experience.
“...Hi. Mind if I sit here? I’m on break, and I don’t like eating alone.”
Eggsy jumped, looking up.
And gawked.
Harry was standing there, smiling faintly, dressed in white.
“Don’t feel obligated... I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Harry added.
“...No. I mean, no, I don’t mind. I mean, please, sit. Yeah. Uh.”
Harry’s smile widened as he sat down, then extended his hand.
“My name is Harry.”
“Harry. I mean Eggsy. I’m Eggsy, nice to meet you, Harry.”
Eggsy shook his hand.
Harry brushed his thumb along the back of Eggsy’s hand.
“Eggsy,” he said, almost purring.
Eggsy’s cheeks went up in flames.
Bzz bzz
The younger man pulled his hand away, grabbing his phone.
Harry watched him curiously.
The screen said Roxy .
...and Harry frowned.
Eggsy quickly typed a reply, then put the phone down.
“So, are you off? I mean, not on duty?”
He was about to ask something else but stopped himself. He had secrets too, after all.
“Completely free. And you?”
“I’m not on duty, no.”
Harry chuckled.
“Do you work as a waiter when you’re not sailing the high seas, Harry?”
“...Uh, no. And what is it that you do, Eggsy?”
“I’m, uh, a cop.”
Harry’s eyes widened slightly.
“Yeah, I know, not the friendliest job. Don’t remind me.”
“...A cop? Really?”
Well, that made sense.
“Yeah. For God’s sake, do we all have to be hairdressers?”
He’d already met three. Nothing against people who cut hair for a living, but he was tired of the implicit suggestion that…
Harry laughed.
“No, sorry, I didn’t mean—I get it now.”
“What? What do you mean?”
"I get why you always look so uncomfortable, and why you wear a tie even on a Hawaiian cruise."
Harry leaned in slightly.
"So, are you here for work or...pleasure?"
That couldn’t be...
Eggsy glanced down at himself and let out a bitter laugh.
"...Desperation," he muttered.
"...You don’t actually expect me to believe that, do you?"
"Uh. No, never mind. Pleasure. Definitely not work."
"Eggsy. Eggsy, hey. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just saying... You’re hot. It’s hard—no, impossible—for me to believe you’re not..."
Harry shook his head with a small smile.
Bzbz
Eggsy picked up his phone, checked it, and smiled.
"And you? How does it work? Do they specifically hire gay staff, or...?"
"When you smile, you’re not just hot—you’re downright handsome," Harry murmured, hoping to distract him from the question.
None of the others had... talked with him this long. He hadn’t prepared a cover story for this.
It worked. Eggsy blushed, chuckled, and asked if he could buy Harry a drink.
He typed quickly on his phone while Harry made himself comfortable.
"So, you’re free, huh?"
Didn’t seem like it.
"...Yeah."
Harry smiled.
"Not anymore."
blush
"So... Harry. How long have you been doing this job?"
He hadn’t specified which job.
"Since I can remember. I was in the Navy."
"...Oh."
"It’s not glamorous, but... I like it."
"Well... I imagine working here is a change for the better."
"...Yeah, well. Actually-"
"Uh, wait. What are you drinking?"
"Whiskey on the rocks.”
Eggsy called another waiter.
"A whiskey and a beer, please."
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Oh, he could tell him. It wouldn’t hurt his thin cover story too much.
“You see, Eggsy... this is the first time in my life I’ve been able to be myself."
He had never said that out loud before.
Eggsy gave him his full attention again.
"...Yeah, I know the feeling."
"...You do?"
"...Yeah, sure. I feel like I can’t fully be myself even here, though."
"Why?"
"You said it yourself, it's obvious I’m uncomfortable."
"You’re uncomfortable because you’re out of practice, I’d say. Most of the guests here are on their second or third cruise."
Harry brushed Eggsy’s wrist lightly with his fingers.
"And the staff... well, we’re here to make your trip more enjoyable ."
Eggsy stared at him intensely, conflicted.
"...You have no idea how out of practice I am."
"Hey, don’t feel obligated to do anything. I just wanted to say that... if you want, the offer stands."
Harry winked at him.
Then it was his turn for bzbz , and with an apologetic look, he stepped away from the table to take the call.
"Merlin, talk to me."
"There’s something off about him, Harry. No Eggsy is officially working for any police department in the United Kingdom-or elsewhere. You need to get into his cabin and investigate—he’s not telling you the whole story."
Fuck, what do I do now?!
"Okay. Okay, Merlin, leave it to me."
Harry ended the call and ran a hand over his face.
He liked Eggsy... He didn’t want to lie to him. Or use him.
But he still had a job to do, so…
He would uncover the truth, no matter what.