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The annual Christmas party thrown by John Steed at his stately manor was known to be one of the social events of the season. Gaining an invitation was as almost as coveted as gaining a tour of Parliament, not only because John Steed was considered the most eligible bachelor in the British Isles, but also the prestige of simply being seen in that rarified company could set a person in Society for the entire year to follow.It was considered a social coup of the utmost aplomb to attend the intimate gathering, and if one happened to be an unattached lady of beauty, grace and charm, securing an extended evening was the goal of the evening.The party was in full swing, the tide of people flowing from one room to the next and Steed executed on his duties as host by effortlessly gliding through the crowd. Early on, he would hold his position in his formal sitting room, where the magnificent Christmas tree stood as the focal point to the festivities. Steed and his tree greeted his guests as they arrived, but as the house became more and more crowded, Steed began to maneuver through the group, greeting all and making everyone feel welcome.This was part of Steed’s charm. His ability to sweep into any room, larger than life and make everybody in that room feel as if it were only them and Steed, despite the crowd. Of course, John Steed had money, ridiculous amounts of money but a lot of people had money. It was Steed’s grace and impeccable manners that coaxed even the more reserved member of the peerage, the most elusive socialite, to his hand.He had but to lift a finger and the loveliest and accomplished of the single women within eyesight would have fluttered to his arm and later to his bed that night.Only this year they would have found that bed a bit crowded.Without much effort on his part, Steed’s sharp eyes quickly, yet discreetly, searched out and confirmed the location of his two younger partners. Purdey was in the dinning room, being chatted up by two hopeful looking young men who were obviously vying for her complete attention. They were both heirs to the peerage invited to the party and either would have made quite the match to any single young woman looking to marry well.Of course, both men knew this and were playing to what they considered their strength. Purdey was smiling, flirting, encouraging while at the same time managing to maintain an air of unavailability that was simply driving both young man to up his game. Steed had often seen his previous partner Emma Peel play with men in the same way, and he could not deny that in the initial stages of their partnership, part of what had drawn him to Purdey was her resemblance to many of Emma’s finest qualities.But at the end of the day, Purdey was very much her own woman and Steed appreciated and had found himself in love with her; not the ghost of the past.Purdey was being delightful, effortlessly shooting down the advances coming her way, while never making either man feel belittled or sour. She embodied charm and grace as if born to it, lighting up the room with her presence, like effervescent bubbles of the finest champagne. In perfect contrast, holding court in the formal living room next to the tree, stood Mike Gambit. While Gambit’s manners had never once given Steed cause for blush, there was still a roughness to the handsome young man that spoke to the struggle of his early years. Gambit did not come from money, nor did he come from the sort of people who had Christmas parties. He had dragged himself out of that rough start on the strength of his own character and it was that strength that drew both Steed and Purdey to his side. Where Purdey was expensive champagne, and Steed like to compare himself to a well-aged brandy, Gambit was a fine whiskey. Smokey, with a bite that you couldn’t ignore, but a smooth finish.Tonight, Gambit looked more the part of a ‘bit o rough, than his fastidious habits would normally allow. Their recent mission had not been kind to Gambit. At the very end, the younger man had gone to take down their target, only to have the wretched man yank Gambit over the edge of the cliff with him. While Gambit had survived, he was on stand down because of a broken arm, broken ribs, multiple contusions and lacerations.It was the lacerations to his face that prevented him from shaving properly and, so he wore a bit more stubble than was conventional for a party like Steed’s and earlier in the day Gambit had offered to excuse himself from the festivities.
Four hours earlier
”Who wants a mulled wine?” Purdey’s cheerful voice called from the doorway to the kitchen as she swept through carrying a tray with two mugs. She was dressed in one of her flowing, casual skirts, with a soft sweater top, a matching scarf about her throat. She would change later to a more formal outfit, but for the afternoon she looked bright and colorful.
“I’ll take one,” Gambit began to reach for the tray with his good hand, only to have Purdey gracefully sweep the tray and its contents away from him.
“Not you. You’re not allowed to mix alcohol and painkillers.”
“I see.” Gambit pouted. “Then what you really meant just then was ‘Steed, have a mulled wine with me while Mike drinks water’?”
“Nonsense,” Purdey cooed sweetly as she set down the tray, picked up both mugs and held one out to Steed. “I always think of you as ‘Gambit’ in my thoughts.”
The back and forth was as familiar and warm as the cozy drink in the mug and Steed smiled as he reached for his treat. He was perched atop a step stool, placing some of the last ornaments on the tree and it afforded him a perfect view of his two lovers. Gambit had dialed up the playful pouting to an eleven and Purdey was having none of it, though Steed noticed that when she stepped back to admire their work on the tree, she left her mug unguarded and within reach of the younger man.
A sip or two would not harm him.
“It looks lovely, Steed. A perfect centerpiece for tonight,” she exclaimed, crossing her arms in her signature jaunty manner and smiling brightly at both of her men.
Gambit, who was just casually setting down the mug he had briefly purloined -and which Purdey quickly swept back up- lowered himself carefully into one of the overstuffed chairs. He was trying not to wince, fiercely proud and hard-wired not to show weakness, even in front of two people who loved and adored him.
It was this fact that contributed to the way Steed and Purdey were careful not to openly coddle or fuss over him. Their care was discreet and measured to ensure they were there to support him, without aggravating him further. Gambit, in turn, expressed his appreciation by mostly doing as he was told and not pushing himself in an unreasonable manner. Which was why, for instance, Steed was atop the step ladder, when normally he would have left the effort of decorating the top of the fourteen-foot tree to Mike.
“Steed,” Mike began, as he got settled.
“We’ve discussed this, Gambit.” Steed interjected, already knowing what was about to come out of the younger man’s mouth and uninterested in entertaining it further. Instead, he took a priceless Christmas ball and began to look for the perfect spot to hang it.
“It’s just, I tried to shave this morning and there is no way …” Gambit attempted to plow on, only to be interrupted this time by Purdey alighting on the low arm of the chair and tapping his good shoulder.
“Don’t be tiresome, you’ll look roguish. Besides, all the ladies at this affair will be paying attention to Steed,” she slipped in the small jab, simply so Gambit wouldn’t think she was openly calling him handsome.
Gambit took the needling with good grace and casually rested his good arm across the back of the chair arm, so that he loosely embraced her. Something Purdey would never have allowed, up until six months ago when the three of them had finally fallen into bed together.
Steed, glanced out of the tree and beamed a smile at Purdey, giving her a playful wink before sending a sterner look towards Gambit.
“I will have both of you at this party tonight, and that is final. Your ‘roughness’ is the result of protecting Queen and country, honorably attained and it is the worst kept secret that we’re ‘civil servants’ no one will say a word.”
‘Civil servants’ being code among polite society for ‘spies’.
Steed started to dive back into the tree, when he was hit with a thought and quickly glanced back at the pair, brow furrowing.
“Unless you’re genuinely not feeling up to festivities, Mike?”
“Not feeling up to your Christmas party? Steed, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Gambit responded and though one side of his face was a livid pallet of bruises he managed his quick smile. “Especially not this year.” A quick glance to Purdey and then to Steed, weighting his jaunty words with meaning.
Present
With that bit of nonsense out of the way, they had spent the remainder of the afternoon enjoying the private quiet before the storm. Because despite the social capital that Steed had built up over the years, not to mention the permissive environment of the Seventies, he did not have the freedom to dance attendance on his two lovers as he might have otherwise enjoyed. Instead, Steed played the same role as Purdey, effortlessly flirting with eligible ladies, while never quite settling on any one. Like Purdey, he was careful not to build up anyone’s hopes, while at the same time giving all a healthy dose of charming attention. Gambit was not quite up to the same level of interpersonal play. Instead he allowed himself to be drawn from orbit to orbit among the social groups, adding quick witted comments here and there, but otherwise allowing others to carry the burden of conversation.As the night wore on, Steed and Purdey -without obvious consultation- began to close ranks around their rapidly tiring third. Though obvious only to those who knew him well, the festivities were starting to wear on Gambit, despite his best efforts to remain engaging; for Steed’s sake if not his own.Even though the party was being wrapped up at an earlier hour than anyone could ever recall, Steed began to artfully escort people out the door. With Purdey effortlessly supporting him, while simultaneously keeping an eye on Gambit, they managed to clear the house in under two hours and just a little past one in the morning. A respectable too do, without it being tediously long, yet as Steed closed the door on the final guest, he turned to find Purdey flopping lightly onto the couch beside Gambit.Gambit had taken a seat over an hour ago and did not appear to be in any hurry to try to stand back up. He looked quite knackered, an opinion that Purdey seemed to share as she kicked out of her stylish shoes and curled up on the couch beside him. Normally she would have saved such obvious affection for behind closed doors, but instead she rested her head against Gambit’s good shoulder, managing to simultaneously offer support while also leaning on her partner. Steed smiled at the picture the pair of them made, locking up his door before walking around and shutting off the lights. The house was a delightful disaster or glass wear, plates and napkins, but all the food was gone and there was nothing that couldn’t wait until morning to be cleaned up.Eventually he came back to the living room where only the lights on the tree remained burning. On the couch, Gambit was asleep. Purdey had taken his hand with one of her own and was reaching across his torso to ensure the arm in it’s sling was set comfortably against his chest. Her head was still on his shoulder, but her bright eyes turned towards Steed as he walked into the room.“It was rather like a bird,” she spoke softly. “The minute you started turning off the lights, he was out.”Steed set a knee on the couch and leaned over Purdey to get a good look at Gambit. Reaching out to brush his hand across the other man’s thick, dark hair, Steed sat down on Gambit’s other side, carefully sandwiching him between them. “We’ll let him sleep for a bit, then move upstairs,” he concluded in a low whisper and Purdey nodded.She neatly curled himself up on the couch and since Gambit was asleep -and she could tease him about it later- she took the opportunity to lay her head down on his lap. Steed chuckled softly at both the gamesmanship and the unspoken need for contact expressed in her action. He reached down with his other hand to brush his fingers through her bright blond hair, settling only when he had a hand on each of them, completing their unusual triad.In only a matter of minutes, Purdey herself was asleep, leaving Steed alone with the softly lit tree and his thoughts. This certainly was one of the tamer endings he’d enjoyed for an evening such as this, but he felt a level peace, serenity and contentment in his heart that he’d not experienced in quite some time. If he received nothing else for this Christmas season the gift of his two partners, well and relatively whole, was precious. Steed would be the first one to acknowledge that in their chosen line of work, they were all considered expendable, but Gambit’s recent brush with mortality had driven home the unequivocal truth that for Steed, his partners -in every sense of the word- were irreplaceable.