mission thirty nine ~ eggsy unwin

in a coma-like state

The door doesn't squeak at all as I silently slip into the room, holding my breath. My father lies on his back on a hospital bed, his breaths even and deep, his face relaxed. 

I let out a sigh of relief, worried I was going to see him covered in blood or inches from death. I take a seat next to him, grabbing his hand and holding it tight, thankful I can feel it's warmth. 

Normally, this would be when someone would apologise for everything they've ever done wrong, and promise they would never do them again, as this brush with death has taught them a thing or two. But in reality, no one actually does that. And I have nothing to apologise for, my father does. 

"You fucking idiot." I say softly, shaking my head. "Why do you always have to be so goddamn reckless? You do realise you can play it safe sometimes? Sometimes heading straight into danger isn't the best idea. And now look at you." 

I shake my head again, staring at our hands. His seem so old, one might think he was a fragile old man, when in reality he could beat the living shit out of anyone. But that doesn't matter to me, to me he is still my dad, and if anything were to happen to him I would be broken.

I stand up, suddenly frightened to be too close to him, as if my presence is a bad omen for him. 

A transmission from Merlin appears in my vision as my glasses beep. 

Meet me at the balcony.

I look at my father's sleeping figure one last time before exiting the room. 

---

The recruits are all lined up below us. In front of them is a series of cages, each with a puppy inside. 

"Merlin?" I say quietly, my mouth hardly moving. "What exactly is this going to teach them?"

They look up at us, as confused as I am. 

"How to properly take care of an animal. Do you want one?" He says, cocking his head towards me. 

"Yeah, I fucking want one!" I grin, leaning over and glancing down at the puppies. 

"You get the last pick though." 

"I'm cool with that." I say, my sombreness from visiting my father suddenly gone. 

Merlin finally addresses the crowd. "Each of you will pick a puppy. You are to take care of this puppy, anywhere you go, the puppy goes. Is that understood?" 

And even though they're supposed to be hardened agents in training, their faces all light up at the idea. 

"Go on then."

They rush forward, scrambling to get the puppy of their choice. It's madness. Merlin and I look down on them, amused at their sudden enthusiasm. Within minutes most of the puppies have a new owner, and there's only one left. 

The balcony is only about three meters off the ground, so forgetting common sense, I jump over the railing onto the ground below, ignoring the stares of the recruits. There's a small brown Yorkshire Terrier sitting in the last cage. I unlock the cage and reach in carefully, pulling him into my arms. 

"Merlin!" I call up. "What should I call him?" 

"Hmm." He thinks, and now we're both ignoring the trainees. "How about Apollo?" 

"Perfect!" I point at him with a grin. 

I turn back to the recruits to find them all staring at me. "What are you looking at? Go on, get lost." 

I wave them away, and they all leave, looking confused. Charlie and his mates look back at me a couple of times, sniggering under their breaths. 

I jump up and latch hold of the bars on the railing, pulling myself up and over the handrail, Apollo tucked in the front of my shirt. I pull him out and admire him and he licks my face. 

"Showing off are we?" Merlin comments as I get my footing. 

I shrug, tucking Apollo underneath my arm. "None of them respect me."

"They don't need to respect you, they need to prove themselves. Respect comes later on."

I grunt noncommittally, smiling blandly at him and placing Apollo on the ground. He scampers in my wake as we both walk inside. My eyes adjusting to the darkness, a stark comparison to the bright sunlight outside. 

I honestly don't care if Merlin thinks respect should come later, because it shouldn't even be a question. 

[737 words]