The Modern Cocktail

Birthday Prep

The 24th of June, 2015

"There you are, Eggsy," Nicolette, twenty-three, said with a small smile, "I'm going to be heading home early today. I still need to bake Brandon's cake."

"Okay. I'll try not to be here too late," Eggsy, also twenty-three, said with a soft smile.

"Just let me know when you're leaving the shop," Nicolette said before giving Eggsy a quick kiss.

"I will, love," Eggsy said, the later half in a hushed tone.

The general rule of Kingsman was that agents were not to be romantically involved with others. Nicolette's father managed to get around this as he was already married and had children when he was brought in as a candidate, the same would have been true for Eggsy's father.

Nicolette would make the joke that the rule never said anything explicitly about relationships between two agents.

In fact, to both Eggsy and Nicolette, it made more sense to date someone that worked for Kingsman, as they would then understand certain rules and risks that came with their partner's job.

Nicolette left Kingsman through the shop front in London, taking a cab back to the home that she and Eggsy lived in together.

Not much of the house had changed since it had a change of ownership. Many of Harry's things were still hung on the walls, such as his butterfly collection and the taxidermied Mr. Pickles. But the house did seem more lively with two dogs and two agents living within its walls.

One thing that did change, was that Eggsy took over Harry's study.

Nicolette had carefully taken down the tabloid front pages that Harry had collected after each successful mission and put them into a bound book to preserve them. That book stayed in the study, keeping their legacy there.

Nicolette opened the front door to her home and was greeted by the sound of nails clicking on the wood floors of the home.

"Hello, you two," Nicolette said as she bent down after closing the front door.

Nicolette pet both Artoria, more known as Tori, her Siberian Husky, and J.B., Eggsy's pug, as they excitedly greeted her.

J.B. then moved past Nicolette to look at the front door, his feet shuffling excitedly.

"I'm afraid it's only me right now, J.B.," Nicolette said with a small sigh as she stood up, "Eggsy will be home later."

Hearing this, J.B. then turned to face Nicolette again.

Nicolette made her way upstairs, changing from her dress slacks, vest, and white button down shirt, into more causal clothing; Jeans and a t-shirt. She grabbed one of Eggsy's jumpers before going back downstairs and to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, Nicolette set out to gather the kitchen utensils she was going to need to make Brandon's cake before going for the ingredients. When she returned to the mixing bowl she had set out, Tori was sitting next to where she stood.

"What?" Nicolette asked with a chuckle as she looked down at her dog.

Tori simply looked up at Nicolette.

"Sorry, I'm not giving you anything right now. There's cocoa in this," Nicolette explained to the husky.

Tori continued to watch Nicolette.

"Tori, turn about," Nicolette said with a soft chuckle as she felt a pair of feet on her leg opposite Tori.

Tori turned to face away from Nicolette as Nicolette looked at her other side to see an excited J.B.

"No, J.B. Like I told Tori, you can't have any," Nicolette said with another chuckle.

However, J.B. persisted.

"Alright," Nicolette said with a sigh before stepping away from the mixing bowl.

She then reached to grab two dog treats. Once they were in hand, Nicolette turned around to see two excited dogs.

Holding one biscuit in each hand, Nicolette said in a stern voice, "Sit."

Tori was quick to sit while J.B. took a few moments, since she was not the one who taught him the command.

Once both dogs were sat, Nicolette gave them each a biscuit before returning to the cake mix she left in the kitchen.

"Shoot, gotta preheat the oven," Nicolette groaned under her breath before setting the temperature in the oven.

After the oven was set to preheat, Nicolette returned to making the cake batter. The batter, once fully mixed, was then poured into the baking tins and placed into the oven. Nicolette then started to make the frosting for the cake.

Nicolette had just finished the making the frosting when she got a text from Eggsy, telling her that he was leaving the shop.

The timer for the cake rang after forty minutes of baking and twenty-two minutes from when Eggsy sent his text. Nicolette got the cake halves out from the oven so that they could cool. Once they had cooled some, she took the cakes out of their tins, allowing them to cool the rest of the way. She then frosted the cooled cake and put it in the fridge to set.

Nicolette then went back upstairs to get a pair of socks and her converse before going back down to the main level. Once her shoes were on, Nicolette hopped into the bathroom. She had only worn some mascara and filled in her eyebrows when she went into work that morning, so she just got a pink lip gloss that she kept in the bathroom.

She was just touching up her lip gloss when she heard the front door open.

"Babe? I'm home!" Eggsy called into the house.

"About time. What took you so long?" Nicolette asked as she finished up.

Nicolette then side-stepped into the door way to see Eggsy covered in muck and grime.

"What the hell happened to you?" Nicolette asked in a stunned voice.

"It's a long story that deserves a kiss," Eggsy said with a soft smirk as he stepped towards Nicolette.

Nicolette took a few steps back with a chuckle, "Come on, not even J.B. would kiss you right now."

Nicolette then pointed to the pug who was in the dog bed under a near by table.

"If you really love me, just one little kiss," Eggsy almost teased.

Nicolette let out a huff and rolled her eyes before drawing a quick breath and moving to give Eggsy a kiss.

Eggsy, however, pulled back with a small gasp, "You were really gonna do it?"

"Yeah?" Nicolette answered.

"Now, that is true love right there," Eggsy then started to back out of the first floor bathroom, "Amazing. I'm gonna go get changed."

Nicolette let out a mix of a groan and a chuckle, "That's not fair!"

"Yes, it is!" Eggsy called back.

"Make sure you shower, you dope! Don't go ruining any more of your clothes!"