PSL: For Charles

[fucking_gentleman]

It took two days for things to be sorted enough for Harry Devere to ping on the Kingsman's systems.

Everyone had been handling somewhat more important things for those two days. A lot of people were dead. A lot more were injured. Even more than that were deeply traumatised by the maiming, murdering and mayhem which had ensued while the signal was broadcast.

And even when they weren't, no one had been expecting the ping. Harry's final footage had been graphic, staring at the barrel of the gun, the sound of firing and then the cut transmission. There were plans, of course, to eventually recover his body for burial but they were far from a priority.

Until Harry Devere pinged the system.

Harry Devere, admitted to the ICU of the Livingston Hospital in Kentucky seven hours before V-Day went live. He survived that by the luck of being in a sealed ward, away from people who viewed him as an actual person worth attacking.

Merlin was busy holding down the fort and being Merlin. Therefore, he told Charles to take whatever damn plane he wanted and get to Kentucky and get Harry into the safety of the Kingsman medical facility as fast as he could. He was given a passport which said he was Charles Devere, Harry's younger brother and paperwork which claimed the legal right to make decisions for his unmarried brother in the absence of parents.

All of these things were delivered with the instruction that no one was to know Harry Hart was alive. Not until they knew he would stay that way and not until he was back with them, awake and some reasonable semblance of the man they knew.

Comments

[fucking_gentleman]

"I didn't mean it," Harry whispered. "I could see it was going to happen and..." He hadn't been able to say or do a thing. He knew Eggsy would refuse to shoot an animal without good reason. "He's alive? Eggsy? Sholto?"

A sign he was genuinely distressed... Merlin's real name rarely got dragged up on pain of Merlin. "He'd be furious if I outlive him."

And that was another. He didn't seem to realise the problem with that statement. But in fairness, he was on a lot of drugs.

[grailknight]

"Eggsy knows, Harry." He reached for his friend's hand. "He was more upset at himself that you had died after that row." Charles nodded. "Yes. Who do you think told me your whereabouts?"

Charles pressed his lips together. "Others didn't survive. Including Chester." He gave a couple of other names of their 'friends' who didn't.

[fucking_gentleman]

Harry relaxed again. "Good. Good. I don't want to have contributed to another Unwin dying. The first was bad enough."

He nodded a little, then remembered not to with another small, sharp inhale of pain. "That's a lot of knights to replace. I don't think we've had losses like that since... well. Maybe the war." He absently reached for Charles' hand again, holding onto it like it was grounding him, keeping him here. "At least Chester had lived a full life and then some."

[grailknight]

"It is because of Eggsy, Merlin, and Roxy that everything is all right now. Eggsy single-handedly handled Valentine and his assistant." He smiled slyly. "Eggsy was made an agent for his efforts."

Charles nodded solemnly and held Harry's hand while he began stroking the top of Harry's hand with his other hand. "We are underway reconnecting with our satelite installations. The losses are severe everywhere."

[fucking_gentleman]

Harry broke into a warm smile, even if the effect was somewhat marred by the fact that one side of his body wasn't responding properly. "An agent... I knew he could, I knew they'd see what I saw, if they just pulled their heads out of their collective arses. Has he been given his designation?"

He paused, eye closing for a moment and his head almost started lolling before he snapped back to attention. "Arthur?"

[grailknight]

"It isn't because of the body. It was made on Merlin's decree." And technically speaking, at the moment, given what Eggsy had done, Eggsy was Modred, but Harry did not need to be told just yet. It wasn't going to be his designation for very long. "No and no! No. Merlin is acting Arthur until further notice."

[fucking_gentleman]

"Merlin can't be Arthur. He's Merlin, running both sides... he won't be able to keep up. He has terrible sleeping habits as it is." Harry tried to sit up a bit more. "What are we doing here, we don't have time to be here, things need doing and I don't like Lancelot being unsupervised during-"

His voice froze as he visibly remembered that James wasn't the person using that title now.

"Oh God. James. I'm so sorry Charles. I'm so sorry."

[grailknight]

"Temporary measures, Harry," he reminded. "None of us are getting any sleep right now." Charles smiled. "We are staying here until you are well enough to travel. Which currently you are not. Merlin has been informed." Charles's smile went soft and he nodded. He also squeezed Harry's hand a little harder. "They were able to recover his body." His husband was going to be able to get a proper burial.

[fucking_gentleman]

Harry didn't really look mollified by the information. He had volunteered to go and recover James, but he'd been sent after Professor Arnold instead.

"Yes... yes, of course." He tried to reach with his right hand, frowning at it when it refused to do what he wanted. "You're always welcome to my place, even if I'm not there and you just need to get away for a while."

[grailknight]

"That is very generous of you and I might take you up on that at a later time. As of late I have been living in quarters in the manor." Charles smiled. "I also appreciate that you have not left us yet."

[fucking_gentleman]

"No. Not yet." He wasn't done, he had things yet to do. People to outlive. He sank back into the pillows. "I'm already exhausted again. This is ridiculous. We don't have time for this nonsense. You don't have the time to be here with me lying about in bed."

[grailknight]

Charles smiled and patted Harry on the hand. "Well I am really glad to hear that." He frowned and nodded. "Your body is doing all it can to recover. You need to give yourself some time. We have time." Harry was an incredible asset, even with brain damage, which didn't seem much the case at the moment.

[fucking_gentleman]

"No, we don't. I've been shot in the head, I'm not stupid. Everything must be in chaos. Either the- the-"

He couldn't remember what they had been trying to stop. There was something... something tickling the edge of his memory. He was found at a church. Why a church? He didn't believe in God? He sometimes felt like not believing in Americans, either.

"I can't remember," he finally admitted.

[grailknight]

"You aren't? But you think flying in your condition is perfectly fine? I am a good field medic, but brain surgery is not a skill I possess, unfortunately."

[fucking_gentleman]

Harry considered that for a moment. "You should be back in England, not... pandering to me and my injuries." He looked at Charles, single eye focusing on him.

[grailknight]

"I am not returning home until I have completed my mission here," he stated firmly.

[fucking_gentleman]

"And what are your mission parameters? Sit here by me until I can be shipped back to Kingsman? Observe until you know if I'm going to live or die?" Because Harry was well aware, he wasn't out of danger. He could still crash quite easily.

[grailknight]

"I am to assess your recovery until you are well enough to return home and then bring you back." As Charles was absolutely convinced that Harry was not going to die.

[fucking_gentleman]

"A waste of a knight," Harry snapped. "You're one of our senior associates, you should be in the field, not babysitting me in a foreign hospital."

Someone was not in a good mood. Harry hated showing weakness. He also hated a fuss being made over said weakness.

[grailknight]

"Harry, do you know what happened to the world while you were in a coma?"

[fucking_gentleman]

"... no." He didn't like admitting ignorance either.

[grailknight]

"Then I shall inform you. We were betrayed, Harry. King betrayed us. He was working with Richmond Valentine." He was going to let that in first before he continued.

[fucking_gentleman]

"... Chester?"

He'd been with Kingsman since he was a young man. A mere twenty five years old, his life had been the agency.

He had nominated Harry for Galahad. He had mentored him and as much as he was a snob, he had done a good job as both Kay and later as Arthur.

"Chester betrayed us?"

[grailknight]

Charles nodded. "Yes, Harry." This was only going to go worse from here and his knitted brows showed that.

[fucking_gentleman]

"But-" He had never considered it. Not Chester.

A couple of machines started beeping, warning of rises in vital statistics... or drops. Shock was a nasty thing.