The Secret Service [KINGSMAN]

xx. REUNIONS

TWENTY.
REUNIONS

As soon as they stepped outside the bathroom, the tiny, quiet universe they had created blew apart and reality came rushing in. The silence was replaced with Cecelia's cries and the steady roar of traffic outside. Bex nearly blinked at the shock of it. The world got bigger and rawer again, all sharp edges.

She suddenly couldn't look Eggsy in the eyes.

He shut the door behind them gently, but the hinges let out a squeal. At the sound of it, Michelle's head turned sharply. When she saw Eggsy, her face became full of all soft and loving things. She let out a noise in the back of her throat. She rushed over, and wrapped Eggsy up in a fierce hug. Her sobs became muted as she buried her face in his jacket.

"I didn't think you were ever coming back," she cried.

"Mum," Eggsy said softly. "Mum, I'll always come back."

He pulled her closer, then. He pulled his mother tight, one hand on the back of her blonde head, eyes closed. They stood like that for a moment, then Michelle pulled back and took his face in her hands. She kissed his cheek, careful to avoid the bruise that had blossomed across his cheekbone.

"It's so good to have you home," she said, smiling through her tears.

Michelle looked at her son with pure, white hot, and blinding love, the kind that couldn't be broken by anything. Bex struggled to remember if anyone had ever looked at her that way.

She stood next to them awkwardly as she watched them, a stranger looking in. She was the jagged piece that didn't fit into this scene. She had fallen into a home filled with the kind of family she didn't know existed, a portrait she had never been painted into. Bex bit her lip. She tried to say something, but the words caught in her throat and instead she coughed. She flushed red as both blonde heads turned around to face her.

"Sorry," she said. "I think I might be allergic to happy reunions and loving families. I'll acclimate."

Michelle turned to face her.

"So, you're Bex then," she said, an unreadable expression on her face.

"That's me," she replied, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

"Eggsy's Bex," Michelle continued.

Bex opened her mouth to protest, but Eggsy beat her to it.

"She's not my Bex, Mum. She's just Bex. She doesn't belong to anyone," he said simply.

Bex found that whatever she was about to say became senseless.

"Fine. She's still the Bex that broke your heart, isn't she?" Michelle said, eyes narrowed.

Bex froze. The blood drained from her face. Her ears hummed as if preparing to drown out Eggsy's answer, because she didn't know if she could bear to hear it.