#agegapapril

"Me first. You later."

"Me at the same time as you, usually, whether you touch me or not," Harry points out. He has a vague sense that this is something other people might be embarrassed about, though he's quite sure that's only because they've never seen the delighted look of near-triumph in Roxy's eyes when she realises he's made a mess of himself like a desperate teenager despite being sixty years old.

"Yes, that's true." She slides her hand out of her knickers - Harry can see the lamp light catching on her slick fingers - and into her bra, drawing out the tiny knife she keeps there. She flicks it open with her thumbnail, springing the scalpel-sharp blade out of the beautifully carved little walnut handle, and Harry can't help remembering the times he's seen her use this thing to kill or persuade - the silent slide of it entering an artery or slipping between someone's ribs - when she spins it deftly between her fingertips and plunges it through the satin she's holding tented away from her cunt with the other hand. The blade whispers through from the top edge to one leg hem and then the other like it's cutting through gossamer, or through air, then Roxy retracts the blade to tuck it back into its hiding place. "You can stop now," she says, glancing down to where his hands have already stilled on her feet, and traces her shining fingertips from bared cunt to clit, dragging Harry's hungry gaze with them like a bloody cat chasing a laser pointer. "Here instead. If you're not tired."

"If I ever say I'm too tired then I'm an impostor wearing my face and you'd better execute me immediately." There's something delicious about doing this clothed, or mostly clothed - in their magnificent suit and cocktail dress, Harry with his jacket off and shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows and Roxy with her underwear shredded to rags ready for his mouth, or at least he assumes. He asks anyway, "Fingers or mouth?" and Roxy smiles indulgently down the length of the sofa at him, tracing her eyes all over his body with a heat he can almost feel like stroking fingertips.

"How about both?"

"How about both," Harry agrees fervently

Harry and Roxy FWBs almost a decade after V-Day.

And here’s today’s ficlet for #agegapapril and the Lush-verse. At first I wasn’t sure if I’d be doing the whole month in the Lush-verse, but it does seem like I am heading that way :D

Day One - Day Two - Day Three

Day Four - Steel

They’ve been going to the Lush shop for about half a year now, either by themselves or together, and Harry still feels as bewitched by the charming young man as he was the first day.

He knows Merlin’s own attraction to Eggsy hasn’t changed either, except for being now tinged with fondness, and that, more than any sense of self-preservation, is what makes him finally speaks up when they leave the shop that afternoon.

“I think… I think we should stop coming.”

It’s the last thing he wants, but Harry isn’t an idiot. They aren’t in love with Eggsy yet, but every little tidbits they glean about him while he helps them choose products to try out take them closer to that.

He wouldn’t try to run from it if Eggsy has shown any interest, buy except for the expected friendliness from anyone working in any kind of customer services job, he’s given no sign he’s got any desire to get to know them better.

Not that it surprises Harry. Not only they are both already in a happy relationship together, but they are about twenty years older than him. Of course Eggsy would never consider a relationship with them.

Merlin is silent for a long time as they slowly make their way home, the Lush bag clasped between their two hands, his thumb slowly brushing circles on his hand.

“You’re sure?” Merlin doesn’t ask why, it’s not as if he doesn’t know already. Like always when one of them takes a shine to someone else, they’ve discussed it extensively, because no matter what,they want to keep what they have together above all else.

The only difference is that, for once, both of them had started to fall for the same person.

But it is going nowhere and if Harry has never minded a little bit of heartbreak, if only because it was proof that he was still alive, he hates nothing more than seeing its effect on Merlin. The thought of Merlin being in such a state when he could have prevented it only serves to steel his resolve.

And I am back with a shorter ficlet today (shorter ficlets will probably be the norm during the week) for #agegapapril and the Lush verse! It kind of took an unexpected turn on me at the end but I still quite like it :D Hope you all enjoy ;)

Day One - Day Two

Day Three - Laugh

When Eggsy walks back into the shop after his short break, it’s to a sound he’s come to cherish over the last few months. He feels like a fool for it, because he’s got no right to find it as precious as he does and he knows that sooner rather than later he will have to go without, but he simply cannot help himself. And neither Merlin nor Harry are helping.

It’s not their fault really.

They can’t help it if their laughs are never mocking, rather an invitation to join in. Harry cannot stop the way his cute dimples will appear every time his lips turns the slightest bit upwards, making him look boyish no matter what is age is. Merlin cannot do anything for the way his eyes will crinkle, his severe appearance softened when his laugh lines get more pronounced.

He takes a moment to drink in the sight of the two men laughing together quietly in their corner of the shop, their shoulders brushing together and allows himself the quick fantasy of imagining himself walking up to them and coming to stand between them. Of having their arms wrap around his waist, their smiles pressed against his temples in light kisses.

It’ll never happen of course. He might not know what kind of strange loyalty makes them insist of getting served by him every time they come to the shop, but there is no way they can be interested in him as he is in them.

Life isn’t a movie and even if it was, he certainly would never be lucky enough to get that much of a happy ending.

Still, even if it leaves him with a pang in his heart every time they leave, he’ll gladly hoard all the smiles and kind words they are willing to give him now. It is but a taste of what he truly wants, but it’ll have to be enough.

Hello again Lush Anon! Since I don’t want you to worry I didn’t get either of you message, I’ll use today’s #agegapapril ficlet to answer to this one ;) The next ficlets will be tagged with agegapapril and lush verse if you want to keep up with the series ;)

For today’s ficlet, we have Merlin and Eggsy meeting for the first time, let’s see how that goes!

Huge thank you to @injureddreams for listening to my ramblings about it earlier today and agreeing to read it before I posted <3 (and not yelling at me for neglecting our bang :P)

Day Two - Ink

Back before he got the job, Eggsy hadn’t really believed Roxy when she had told him they really get all sorts of customers at Lush. A single day of work had been enough to set him straight.

Sure, the core of their clientele are young women, but not everyone let stereotypes keep them away from good products. And even Eggsy from his very limited experience can honestly say that they are good and it isn’t just because he has been brainwashed into thinking it.

He is sufficiently self-aware to know there has been a bit of brainwashing involved since his hiring, but with his employee discount, he can more than afford the bathbombs that litters his bathroom. He even has the ready excuse that Daisy loves taking glittery baths whenever she stays over and that his purchase has nothing to do with the name, no matter how cool Dragon’s Egg sounds.

But yes, their regular clientele is diverse enough that Eggsy doesn’t think anything of it when the tall bald man steps into the shop. He wouldn’t even have taken note of it in fact, since Chantelle os currently on greeting duty while he is manning the cash, but even from back behind the counter, he can see the sleeves tattoo and the ink looks sick in the best possible way.

For once, Chantelle doesn’t insist after being dismissed and sure the man looks severe enough, but had it been Eggsy, he would have been all over him, because the man ks hot, to hell with reading your customer’s body language.

It’s a while before he’s done with the little rush at the cash, enough that he would have thought the man long gone, but he’s still there, idly looking at the products. Since she’s the one who greeted him, he’d leave Chantelle deal with him, no matter how much he’d like to have a closer look to those tattoos, but she’s still giving the man a wide berth.

He can’t understand why, since he really doesn’t look that bad, but he guesses severe-looking man covered in tattoos (or so he guesses) aren’t everyone’s type.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?”

The man looks him up and down with something like appreciation in his gaze and it takes everything for him not to preen like a peacock.

“Are you Eggsy?”

The man’s words has the effects of a cold shower on him. He doesn’t care if not a minute ago he thought the man didn’t look scary at all, in his experience, a stranger knowing his name is never a good thing.

“That depends on who’s asking?” If his manager heard him talk that way to a client, he could get written up or suspended, but really, he’d rather lose his job than have to start looking over his shoulder everywhere he goes again. He’d thought with Dean gone for good he’d be safe but clearly he had been wrong.

The stranger obviously sensed something wasn’t quite right however, because he takes a couple of steps back and offers him a weak smile.

“Sorry, I should have started with that. My name is Merlin.” He doesn’t try to offer his hand for a shake and before Eggsy can ask what kind of name ‘Merlin’ is, he goes on. “I’m not sure if you remember, but a short while back you’ve help my partner choose some massage bar. A gentleman in a suit named Harry?”

“Oh,” just like that, all the tension leaves him, “sure I remember him.” It would have been a bit hard to forget him since he had starred in quite a few of his fantasies since then. Not that his partner needs to know that.

“Good. Would you also remember what’s the one you sold him? I’d ask him, but he’s on a plane right now and I was hoping to surprise him…”

He hopes his eyes doesn’t glaze over for the short seconds he imagines it, both men naked in bed, their skin made glistening by the oil. He stops before he can decide what would be better between Harry being inked as well under his suit or not and leads Merlin over to the massage bars stand.

“You’ll want Shades of Earl Grey, except if you want to try something else?”

It’s a near thing, but he manages not to moan out loud when he notices that Merlin’s got ink all the way down to his fingers on his left hand as he reach out for one of the bar.

“No, I’d rather keep to what we know for now…” But there is a clear hesitation to his words that makes Eggsy push him a bit.

“You sure there’s nothing else you’d want to try out?” It’s kind of funny to see him so hesitant, because really besides the massage bars, there’s not much to blush over here.

“Maybe something more… specific for feet? Harry is always complaining that his feet are sore after having to travel.”

He might have only talked to either of them for less than five minutes, but it’s enough for him to feel rather envious of the relationship they seem to have. First Harry was concerned about Merlin’s sensitive skin and now Merlin wants something for Harry’s feet because he knows they’ll be sore. It might sound stupid, but his bar for a perfect relationship has just been set higher.

“I have just the thing for you, if you’ll follow me. It’s called Pink Peppermint and it’s heavenly I swear.” And Eggsy would know. He might not have anyone to rub his feet for him, but that stuff has made working long hours standing up way easier since Roxy’s shown it to him.

For @deepdarkwaters and AgeGapApril :-)

Within a week of moving into Harry's house, Eggsy discovers two things. First is that there's a fuckton of stuff in Harry's small kitchen. The second is that Harry has quite a sweet tooth, especially when it comes to baked goods. 

Given the chance to explore things in the kitchen for the first time in his life, Eggsy maybe goes a little overboard. He's always had a knack for putting together creative meals on a shoestring budget, but now he has both the time and the ability to really see what he can do. 

He has a lot of fun with it, too. He tries his hand at roasts and kebabs, prawn cocktail and a dozen different chicken dishes. He buys a ginormous bag of flour and starts baking: cakes, an apple puff pastry thing that Harry practically devours, a lemon pie that could have been better but ain't too bad for a first attempt. 

Gone are the days of going to McDonald's for dinner, grabbing takeaway on the way home, eating standing up on the street corner. Every chance they get, they have a meal at home, and Eggsy preens with pride every time Harry looks at it all and says how wonderful it tastes. 

To be entirely honest Nonny, my first reaction to this was “hell nah” not because the prompt isn’t amazing (as is the next one you sent) but, unpopular opinion time, I personally cannot stand Lush. I mean I like the concept just fine, workers are usually friendly, but to me it all smells the same and when I go into a shop with my earbuds on, it usually means that nope, I do not want a demo done on me. Let’s just say my antisocial ass when shopping has had one too many bad experience with salesclerk who couldn’t understand my simple “I am looking for now, I’ll ask as soon as I need help”. Like I get you want to show me your cool products, but can I get an idea of which one I want to know more about before you bombard me with them? ... Anyway rant over, sorry about that Nonny.

But soon after I saw the #agegapapril post from @deepdarkwaters and well, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to write a little something and make a Nonny happy :D

Also, I’ll probably use the bingo cards as inspiration for little snippets in this Lush verse, so stay tune Nonny, you’re getting a several stories this month :D They won’t be long though because I gotta focus on the bang, but I do hope you like them!

Day One - Velvet

The posh gentleman that just stepped into the shop looks as if he’s inadvertently walked into a warzone and Eggsy cannot really blame him.

Even after a few months of working at Lush, he sometimes internally cringes at his own coworkers. Not that he’s really any better, after all, an enthusiastic greeting is one of Lush Law, but there is something to say about being able to read your customers’ body language.

For example, now that the posh gentleman has declined his offer to help with a look that is very reminiscent of a deer caught in headlights, he needs to back off or the man will bolt out of the shop at the first occasion. The poor bloke is clearly overwhelmed and doesn’t seem the sort to like being reminded that he is out of his depth.

So instead of badgering him, Eggsy leaves him to peruse the shelves at his own pace and goes to help a group of giggly teenagers. He keeps an eye on the gentleman through all the awkward flirting though and as soon as the girls are out of the shop with more bathbombs than they really need, he goes to arrange something or another on a shelf close to him him.

His wait is rewarded when the man finally turns from the products he had been staring at for the last five minutes and politely clears his throat to get his attention.

“I am sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had a few minutes to help me out.” He’s smiling all sheepishly now, as if ashamed to have refused his help at first and Eggsy finds himself answering his smile with something more genuine than the ones he gave the girls a few minutes ago.

It’s either that or he’s afraid he’ll make an embarrassing noise over how cute the man looks now that his dimples are showing. And really the man must have a good twenty years on him. Eggsy doesn’t mind one bit, but the gentleman might take offense to being cooed over.

“Sure, I’d be happy to. Have you find anything you’re interested in?” He might have been standing in front of the massage bars, but Eggsy doesn’t want to assume anything.

Maybe he should have though, because the gentleman waves vaguely at the massage bars as he replies and he tries very hard not to imagine how those hands would feel on his skin.

“They all seem great, but my partner’s skin is quite sensitive and I trying to determine if ‘velvety oil’ or ‘luscious melted butter’ will cause a reaction or not.”

Eggsy ignores the pang of disappointment at hearing about the man having a partner, but really handsome as he is, it’s not really surprising. Anyway, it’s not like he was thinking of giving him his number or something. The last thing he wants is to be written up for inappropriate behaviour, which shockingly enough, can happen fairly easily.

“Well, none of those should cause a reaction, except if they’re allergic to any of the ingredients. I got a friend who breaks into rashes at the littlest thing, but she swears by those.”

“He’s not allergic to anything, no… Which one would you recommend?”

Usually, that would be the time he would ask about what kind of scent he and his partner might like, but for once he’s got a pretty good idea of what they might enjoy. Maybe it’s stereotyping since he imagines his partner to be equally as posh as him, but he doubts they’d be a fan of the strawberry one anyway.

“Shades of Earl Grey,” he says as he takes one to offer the man. “I’d also recommend buying a tin for it, so you can keep it somewhere handy without fearing it will melt on anything. Oh and I know there’s no risk of a heatwave in the middle of winter, but the stuff does melt at body temperature, so I’d keep it in the fridge during the summer when you don’t plan on using it.”

The man has sniffed the bar tentatively during his little speech and Eggsy gets a little thrill when he nods in clear approval of his suggestion.

“I’ll take this one then. And a tin.”

He’d offer to give a little demonstration of the product on his hand at least, but the suit he wears seems to have cost more than what he’s earned since he’s got the job and he’d hate to stain it by accident. He also might have the slightest fear he’ll make some inappropriate sounds if he was to actually touch the man and he’d really like to keep his job, thank you very much.

That and the man is already moving toward the cash, obviously not wanting to spend a minute more here now that he’s got what he wanted.

He makes short work of ringing his order up and giving him his bag, but the ‘have a nice evening’ dies before it can even form on his lips when the man takes his hand between his for a gentle shake.

“Thank you for all your help…” It takes him a moment to realise that the man is waiting for his name, but anyone would be thrown off at having their hand suddenly held by someone they’re trying very hard not to fantasize about.

“Eggsy.” It’s a bit choked off, but the man doesn’t mention it, nor does he say anything about how unusual a name it is.

“Thank you again Eggsy. I’m Harry,” he gives a little press on his hand before letting go and Eggsy has to bite back a disappointed groan. “If we like this,” he gives a little shake of his bag, “I’ll probably be back to look at more.”

“I’m usually there all week except on tuesdays.” As soon as the words leaves his mouth, he has to fight the impulse to bash his head against the counter, because really Harry already told him he’s got a partner, there is no point in flirting.

But Harry seems genuinely pleased by that tidbit of information and seriously dimples should be made illegal.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Good evening.”

“Good evening.”