#you called

It had been going quite well. Your target, Vincent Giante, had been at the event early and you had approached carefully but confidently. Merlin had informed you that he was, in fact, a ladies-man, and that it could be of use to, as he said, “throw your womanly charms at him”. You ended up following that advice after the target had shown interest in you, most likely due to the rather revealing emerald-green dress you were wearing. ‘My, my, a lovely young lady at an event such as this one, alone and seemingly without a date.’ Vincent had said to you as he approached. It sounded vulgar as he said it, as if she were a piece of meat, an object which he was intent on owning. That would never happen in a million years if you had any say in it. You did, however, have to play into it. ‘Why thank you, I’m flattered.’ You say as he grabs your hand and leans down to kiss it, his touch lingering a tad too long for your liking. ‘So what’s your name darling?’ ‘Josephine.’ Was what you answered as you heard Merlin in your ear. Target on lock. Vincent made small-talk with you for a bit before the two of you were approached by a man. ‘Sorry, boss, that I have to interrupt your conversation with this lovely lady.’ He leans in and whispers something to his boss which you’re unable to hear. That’s Vincent’s right-hand man, Giovanni. Be careful around him, he can be quite the fighter. Merlin informs you before the pair can shift their focus back to you. ‘Sorry love, I have to go meet with some people.’ He sounded genuinely disappointed. He leans in to kiss your cheek and whispers in your ear. ‘If you’re feeling up for it, meet me outside in an hour.’ 

Time passed slowly as you waited to meet up with Vincent. You were in fact, not feeling up to it, but it was too good of a chance to pass up. During that time, you mingled with some more of the guests, but were unable to gather any information that was particularly of note. Merlin, on the other hand, was able to gather the information that Vincent supposedly had a harddrive with him which contained some secret documents which the Kingsman could use to folly his organisation’s plans. As the agreed upon time approaches, Merlin fills you in about the surroundings and what to look out for. Supposedly, Giante would have the drive somewhere on this person, so the goal had shifted from gaining information to getting the harddrive without being caught. 

Outside, it was quiet, the hustle and bustle of the event left behind. Vincent stood near a statue in the gardens, seemingly alone, yet you knew better. It was likely that multiple of his men would be surrounding the two of you, looking out for his well-being. ‘Josephine, I’m glad you came.’ He smiles and puts his hand on your shoulder. ‘Let us walk for a bit, I’ve been inside all day.’ You take the arm which was offered to you and join him.  After ten minutes you reach a part of the gardens which seemed completely isolated. Slowly, he tries getting closer, putting his hand on your lower back as he whispers things in your ear. You endure them, finding them disgusting but pretending to love the attention. Slowly, he starts kissing your neck and eventually mouth. If it weren’t for your training and experience, you probably would’ve gagged as his hands slowly started lowering further. Finding your focus again, you shifted it to trying to find the harddrive on him, roaming your hands over his body. Eventually, you feel it in one of his pockets, and slowly but surely, you try to get it out. As he starts getting more passionate you manage to grab hold of it. Slowly, you slip it into one of your hidden pockets. After a few more minutes you pull back and look him in the eye, smiling kindly. ‘We should take this elsewhere.’ Taking his hand, you lead him back to where the event was taking place. He seemed quite content for the time being, but you weren’t too convinced. Well done agent Kay, get out of there. 

Vincent leads you back inside to a relatively quiet corner, stopping a moment to talk to one of his men. As you look around, you suddenly hear a click just behind you. ‘Now love, I had so much fun, but I’d prefer it if you handed back that harddrive.’ Vincent sticks out his hand while the man behind you slowly pushes the gun against the back of your head. ‘We can talk about this Vincent.’ You slowly walk up to him. Agent Kay what are you doing? Get out. Merlin almost screams in your ear as you try to remain as possible. You slowly put your hands up, ‘I was enjoying myself quite a bit, but I suppose that is now over?’ your voice is almost sickly sweet. The hand he was holding out slowly wraps around your chin, tilting it up. ‘It’d be a pity to lose this pretty face.’ You were stalling quite a bit, that was clear.

Kay, Galahad is on his way. Just get out of this venue.

Galahad, that was your sign. Your colleague was on the way and you only had to get out of the building. Leaning into his touch, he clearly gets distracted once again, just enough to pull out a small knife and throw it backwards into the man that was pointing a gun at you. Turning, you grab hold of the lead and break the man’s fingers, then shooting him with his own gun, followed by shooting Vincent in the head. ‘A shame really.’ You scoff before turning and running into the crowd, 8 men following you, their guns loaded. Every step felt hot, so very hot, and they were right on your heels. ‘Fuck’, a soft whisper escaping you as they start firing their guns.

Kay, I need you to confirm that you are on the way out. ‘Confirm Merlin, I just have to lose some people.’ Heels continue to click where-ever you go. After turning a corner in one of the many hallways, several more of the men following you go down as you disarm and shoot them. That is until you didn’t have any ammo left. Of course this would happen to you, as if your day wasn’t going terribly already. ‘At least I still have these ones.’ You throw a few knives, hitting several throats. Their blood covers your face. Around you several bodies lay and you are finally able to breathe, even if it’s just for a moment. ‘Galahad, do you copy?’ You say quietly as you continue walking through the maze of hallways. Several footsteps can be heard from several of the hallways around you, so you start running once again. 

‘Merlin, where is Galahad?’ 

You don’t get a response.

Managing to finally get outside, heading into a dimly lit alleyway, you see over a dozen people following you. Pulling out your own gun, you shoot as many of them as possible while continuing to move. They shoot back, one hitting you in the leg. 

‘Fuck.’

They seem to keep on coming, and slowly, they surround you. ‘Galahad do you copy?’ Bodies keep on falling, but time seems to be running out when another bullet hits you, this time in your left shoulder. Frustrated, you throw some more knives and grab one of your daggers. One by one they go down, and with every body that hits the ground, your green dress becomes more red and your limbs are covered in blood. As the last of your energy slowly leaves your body and you start feeling faint. 

‘Galahad.’ 

It was barely a whisper which left your mouth. Before you are able to say anything else, you feel a gun being put against your temple. ‘Calm down lady, drop the knife.’ There was only one man left standing and he had the obvious advantage. You sigh, letting the weapon fall to the ground. 

You had to find a way out of this situation, you always did, but your body seems to be done. A gunshot interrupts your train of thought, the gun which was held against your head, falling away. Turning, you see Galahad standing there.

‘You came.’

Your voice sounds exhausted as you stand there; shoulders slumped and body aching. Your colleague approaches and hugs your body tightly.

‘You called.’

One of your younger friends is turning 21 and has decided that more than anything, she wants you all to attend a Christmas-themed bar crawl downtown. You’ve agreed to go and are looking forward to it, but the cost of your ticket, the Uber to the first bar, plus the matching outfits she wants you all to wear, not to mention the drinks you’re likely to end up paying for has you second guessing how you want to get there and back. You could drive, but soberly chaperoning your friends throughout an entire bar crawl full of drunk people in Santa hats sounds…less than ideal. You’re starting at the restaurant the birthday girl works at, out in the suburbs, so public transportation won’t work, and honestly you’d really prefer not to have to shell out the money for multiple Ubers. You could do it, but they’re always more expensive going between campus and downtown on a Friday night. 

While you’re trying to figure it out, the perfect idea dawns on you: Bradley. Not only is he one of your dearest friends and likely to help you anyways, you have a secret weapon. While you usually try not to weaponize it too much, you know full well that he can’t say no when you use your puppy dog eyes. So with the promise of buying him pizza on the way home, you and Bradley arrange for him to come pick you up at a pre-specified time. That’s one perk of a set bar crawl, not only will there be shuttles between the bars, you even know what time you’ll be done.  You even leave Bradley your car keys, promising that he doesn’t even need to worry about bringing the Bronco into downtown traffic to come get you.

Despite all of the hassle it took to plan your part of the event, you and your friends have a great time. Ella, the birthday girl, proclaimed it the best birthday ever before you even got to the second bar, so you’re all considering it a success. You ducked out of the last bar of the night a little earlier than planned when Ella had spotted an Insomnia Cookies across the way. 

Which is how you’ve found yourself sitting in an Insomnia Cookies drunkenly giggling with your friends and messily scooping ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie into your mouth. You haven’t been paying attention to your phone, so you only realize what time it is when the door opens and Bradley walks in. Ella’s cousin Jackie – your newly minted bff for the night – looks Bradley up and down and lets out a not-so-subtle damn as he approaches your table.

“Bradley!” You cheer, standing up to greet him while Ella tells her cousin to behave.

“Hi there, Trouble.” He says, amused, absentmindedly bringing a hand up to remove a smudge of chocolate from your chin while you beam at him.

“We just got ice cream and cookies, do you want any?” Before he has the chance to answer, you grab your own bowl, and at a speed that Bradley is shocked you manage to possess after this many drinks, shove a spoonful at him. “Here you go. It’s delicious, you’ve gotta try it.”

Bradley knows better than to argue with you, especially when you’ve had a few drinks so he opens his mouth and lets you feed him. Besides, you’re determined enough that if he didn’t, it would have ended up smeared on his face.

“Well?” You ask expectantly. It’s ice cream and a warm cookie, there’s no way it would be bad, but Bradley isn’t going to tell you that, not right now.

“It’s great.” He says, smiling. “Alright, want to head out?” He holds up your car keys.

“Can I finish my ice cream?” You smile up at him still holding your bowl up, and while it isn’t explicitly said, Bradley wants to punch your ex for making you feel like you have to ask permission.

“You don’t need to ask. Absolutely.” 

Bradley ushers you back into your chair and stands protectively behind you while you sit back down, focused on your ice cream and the girls at the table. Instinctively, you lean back in your chair, just enough, so that you’re gently pressed against Bradley. Neither of you seem to notice  you do it, but Bradley notices the girls staring at him, and he knows what they’re thinking. They’re not the first to assume that you’re together, and they probably won’t be the last. But you’re just friends, and he has a girlfriend. He’s just here helping a friend, the way that Carole would have wanted him to. And you’re like this with anyone lucky enough to be one of your good friends. Just last weekend he watched you hold hands with another friend, holding onto her for dear life as you crossed the street together in the pouring rain. So no, Bradley doesn’t think much of it anymore as you lean against him, still chatting away with the girls. 

Once you finish your ice cream, Bradley watches as you stumble your way over to the trash to throw it out (Bradley, I can do it, you whined when he tried to help). He can’t help but smile, even drunk you’re trying to be careful of your surroundings and make sure that you’re not leaving anyone else to pick up after you. Once you get back to your table, he grabs your jacket and your purse, letting you say goodbye to the girls, who will be headed to Jackie’s apartment on the other side of the city. 

“Okay let me know when y’all get home safe!” You declare, ever the mom friend. Thankfully, Bradley’s sober enough to stop his train of thought before it gets to the idea of you with children. But he’s not fast enough to stop himself from thinking about thinking about the idea of you with children. Still, a win is a win, he’ll take it.  

“Take care of her!” One of the girls, probably Jackie, calls out, amidst giggles.

Bradley knows what they really mean, he knows they mean she’s your problem, she’s all yours. That they don’t know about Becky, they think you’re his girlfriend. In response, Bradley means to brush them off in a friendly manner, he means we’re just friends, but I’ve got her. 

But that’s not what comes out. Instead, it comes out, “I won’t.” 

He cringes immediately, knowing it’s the type of thing that Becky would be mad about if it was her or one of her friends. But you just laugh, hard, lightly smacking his chest as you do. With the otherwise quiet chatter, it draws attention as you double over in amusement, hand still resting on Bradley’s chest. After a second, you straighten up and sigh dramatically as you try to stifle your laughter.

“Bye! I love you all. Even you ice cream man!” You call out to your friends and the guy working behind the counter, letting Bradley tug your jacket onto your arms before guiding you outside the shop.

You make it a few blocks down towards where Bradley said he parked your car before you stop, dead in your tracks. It’s a small park, you pass it on your way to and from your internship twice a week, but right now it looks like magic. The trees are covered with Christmas lights and through the alcohol-induced haze, it’s the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen.

“Bradley, look.” You say, before taking off closer to the trees.

To his credit, he doesn’t say yeah, I see it. Instead, he just nods and follows you.

Bradley doesn’t hesitate before pulling his phone out of his pocket to take photos of you, as you investigate the decorations. Later, he’ll wonder about this impulse and decide that it’s because Becky has trained him to be the perfect “instagram boyfriend”, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that says that he won’t want to forget this moment. He’s a good boyfriend, he knows this. He doesn’t cheat, he wouldn’t cheat, he tries to remember all of Becky’s favorite things, and abide by her “rules”, but deep down, he knows that a good boyfriend wouldn’t feel this pull towards one of his friends. It’s why he’ll tell himself it’s for the better in two weeks when Becky breaks up with him right before Christmas break. 

Eventually you turn around to look at him, and as luck would have it, Bradley is still taking photos. He gets a series of photos of you spinning, and one of you reaching for him, laughing. When you look at them later, you proclaim them the greatest photos of yourself that you’ve ever seen. Bradley nods along, but knows that he won’t be able to stop himself from going back to look at them, to look at your smile. In a totally platonic way, that is. 

After what feels like five seconds to you, and an eternity to Bradley, you make it to your car.

“Okay, so what do you want?” You ask, all business, the local pizza place’s website already pulled up on your phone. 

“You don’t need to get me anything.”

“Bradley, you’re either letting me buy you dinner or I will shove at least $30 in your pocket one day, when you’re least expecting it.” You tell him, and frankly, he’s impressed by how serious you manage to look while saying it.

“Okay, okay.” He acquiesces, telling you what kind of pizza he’d like. Truthfully, he’d have picked you up, even if you hadn’t offered him anything in return, but you drive a hard bargain and he’s not going to say no to pizza.

Once you place the order, he can’t help but laugh as you queue your favorite playlist and start singing shamelessly along with the radio, with little dances to go with certain songs. Bradley’s trying to ignore the voice in the back of his head that asks when he last laughed so hard with Becky. At the same time, you’re trying to ignore the voice that asks why Bradley. Surely, you could have ubered, so why didn’t you. Sure you saved money on the uber but was it really easier to give Bradley your keys, arrange a time in advance and share your location so he could find you? To have him drive downtown, find somewhere to park your car and come get you?

But neither of you address it, and the night becomes a hallmark of your friendship. You never quite let him live down saying he wouldn’t take care of you, and he tries not to think about how happy he felt letting you scoop ice cream into his mouth, or following you through the local park. The way that you two invited some other friends to come and eat pizza with you but you stayed glued to Bradley's side, giggling off and on for the rest of the night about his "I won't.". 

And when you find out about Becky a few weeks later, you don’t even hesitate to take his side, even before you find out that she had "rules" for him or that he always felt like he had to be perfect, that he could never just be.

“How rude. Who breaks up with someone right before Christmas. You deserve better.” You tell him, and you’ll mean it. "Besides, it's her loss." You stop yourself before you can say anything else that might give too much away.

Neither of you share that you’re both picturing someone who will drunkenly share their ice cream with him, someone who will trust him with their car and their heart and who will laugh when he says stupid things. Bradley certainly isn’t going to tell you that he spent the rest of break looking at the photos he took of you, wondering what made him want to take them without being asked, or why it feels like it’s for the better that he’s single now, even if it is shitty that it happened right before Christmas and even if he did like Becky a lot.