Sam yawned as the sun shined through the blinds of her bedroom.

She after dinner, they had retired to bed pretty quickly. She had allowed Nolan to use the shower, as he said he hadn't had one for a while after she asked, and she was a little embarrassed to admit that she had somewhat drooled a little when he walked out of the bathroom in a pair of sweat pants she had that happened to fit him, and no shirt.

With his bare chest exposed to her, she could help but stare, admiring his perfectly sculpted chest. His body was almost Herculean in design, nothing but pure, chiseled, defined muscles.

Her face had turned a bright red when whe she caught Nolan grinning at her, knowing she had been caught ogling him.

Again.

He had lied down on the couch after a bit of teasing, and she was surprised at how quickly she heard him begin snoring.

She had retired to bed soon after, changing into her pajamas and passing out on her bed.

Now, that was the day before, and it was the start of the new day.

Tossing her cover off of her, she stood up, stretching her arms as she stumbled out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom.

She was still a little tired, and she nearly banged her head in the door as she walked into the bathroom, and looked into the mirror.

Her blonde hair was wild and unruly, a clear sign of bed head as she stood looked at her tired face in the mirror, as her eyes were half shut, still somewhat tired as she tried to wake up. With a yawn, she grabbed her hairbrush and began fixing her hair, straightening it out back to its wavy self.

Once she was done, she smiled at herself in the mirror.

"Perfect." She said, content with her look in the mirror.

Setting her hairbrush back down, she walked out into the hall and began walking towards the living room, where a sweet aroma invaded her nose.

The sweet aroma of bacon.

She followed the scent out into the living room, and stopped in surprise.

The living room had been cleaned up. All the empty bottles and dirty plates that had been sitting around were gone, leaving the place looking much nicer and cleaner. The TV had also been cleaned up, looking as if all the dust had been completely wiped off.

Looking into the kitchen, she was even more stunned.

The sink was completely empty of dishes, all of which were neatly organized in perfect stacks next to the sink, except for a few in use.

Nolan stood at the stove, humming a toon as he made bacon, while a finished bowl of mashed potatoes and another skillet with pancakes also sat on the stove.

Sam approached, jaw dropped in shock at the site.

"N-Nolan?!"

Nolan turned around to look at her as he stopped humming, smile on his face. "Oh, hey Sam! How are you this morning?"

Sam looked around the kitchen, frame the table to the stove. "Did you do all this?"

Nolan nodded as he turned his attention back to the food. "Yeah. I know you said you didn't want me doing anything, but I wanted to do something to pay you back."

Sam smiled, grateful at his generosity. "Nolan, I meant what I said, you really didn't have to."

Nolan chuckled. "I wanted to." He plucked the bacon from the skillet he was using, dropping them on a nearby plate that Sam only just now noticed was already filled with more bacon.

She grinned as Nolan shut off the heating panel for the now empty skillet.

"Did you raid my fridge?"

Nolan looked sheepish at her question.

"You're letting me stay here free of charge. A good old home cooked breakfast is the least I can do." Nolan reasoned, smiling at Sam.

Sam smiled as she sat down at the table. "So, are you a good cook?"

Nolan chuckled. "I'm not helpless in the kitchen, but I'm certainly no skilled chef." He turned to look at her. "You want like bacon, mashed potatoes?"

Sam moaned hungrily. "Mmm, bacon…"

Nolan chuckled, and sat the plate full of bacon in the middle of the table. "Help yourself."

Sam plucked a piece of bacon off the plate as Nolan finished up the pancakes, setting the plate next to the mashed potatoes, and turning off the stove.

Wiping his hands on a rag he had resting in the oven handle, he grabbed the bowl and plate and sat them on the table, before grabbing a spare plate some silverware, setting them in front of Sam.

Nolan smiled down at Sam. "Help yourself."

Sam grinned, and began to fill her plate as Nolan grabbed his own.

As they began eating, Nolan looked at Sam. "So, where do you want to go for coffee?"

Sam blushed as she finished chewing. "Honestly, I didn't even think about that. I was just trying to work up the courage to ask you out."

Sam's hands slapped onto her mouth the moment the words left it. Nolan raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"Oh really?"

Sam groaned in embarrassment as she rested her elbows on the table, hiding her face out of sheer embarrassment. "I can't believe I just said that."

Nolan chuckled at the site. "Well, do you have any ideas?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I've never really been interested in coffee enough or go to a coffee shop. I stick my foot in my mouth when I asked." She groaned.

Nolan smiled at her. "Maybe it doesn't have to be coffee, specifically. I'm sure there are plenty of places we could go."

Sam removed her hands from her face with a pout, but she smiled at Nolan. "Actually, there is one place."

Nolan leaned in to listen to her.

"There's this old family diner up in Harlem. We'd have to take a bus, but my dad used to take me there all the time when I was a kid." Sam had a fond look pass over her face as she mentioned her dad, but it was laced with sadness.

Nolan smiled. "To be sure, we do have the day off for this, right?"

Sam nodded. "Mr. Smythe closes the theater on Mondays and Tuesdays. We get the best business on weekends, obviously, and unless he's paid to show a movie on Monday or Tuesday, he makes sure we all have some sort of weekend."

Nolan nodded. "Evan's a good man."

Sam smiled. "That he is."

The two finished up their breakfast, and Nolan began rounding up the dirty dishes and putting them in the sink.

Sam stood up, protesting.

"Hey, you just made breakfast! I'm doing the dishes!" She said, wiggling a finger at Nolan, who chuckled.

"How about instead you put away the clean dishes, since you know where you want them?" He suggested.

Sam shook her head. "I can do that later. I'm doing the dishes!"

Nolan grinned at her. "Well, then come see if you can do them."

Sam narrowed her eyes as Nolan walked over to the sink with the dirty dishes and began to wash them.

She stomped around the table, and planted her hands into Nolan's side, trying to push him out of the way…

…with absolutely no effect whatsoever.

Nolan chuckled as he remained still like a statue, as if he didn't even feel her, while Sam tried to push Nolan out of the way any which way he could manage.

"Having fun?"

Sam didn't answer, instead trying to use her back to gain some extra leverage, only for her feet to slip out from under her, causing her to fall on her rear.

Nolan laughed at the site as he sat the dishes in the sink. "Well, I think we know who's doing the dishes." He remarked as he grabbed her armpits, pulling her to her feet.

Sam pouted. "No fair, you have superpowers."

Nolan chuckled. "Yep."

Sam glared at Nolan as he resumed the dishes, before grinning and walking away, an idea in her head.

Nolan began humming a tune as he did the dishes, when he heard Sam walk back into the kitchen.

"Need anything?"

Instead of being answered by Sam's voice, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud horn sound went off inches away from his ear.

He reacted on instinct.

His hand was around the perpetrator's wrist in a second, pulling them as he turned around and planted his other hand into their upper back.

"AHH!"

It took him a few seconds to process who the perpetrator's face was as she was pushed against the table.

"Nolan, your hurting me!" Sam cried out as tears welled in her eyes, her right arm pulled back uncomfortably as Nolan kept her pushed against the table.

Nolan's eyes shot wide and he let go of her, allowing her to slowly sit up off the table. "Shit, are you okay?! I'm so sorry Sam!"

Sam hissed as she rubbed her aching wrist, Nolan's grip leaving a bruise. "What the fuck, Nolan?!"

Nolan's hands ran through his hair. "I'm sorry, it was instinct!"

"It was an air horn!"

"It was loud!"

Sam hisses, rubbing her wrist. "Yeah, and your the only one who reacts to it like that!"

Nolan looked at her, realizing what he had really done.

He had scared her.

"I…"

Sam could see the look of immense guilt wash over his face, and he buried his face into his hands.

"DAMMIT!"

His sudden volume made her jump a bit, and he began hitting his head in frustration.

"One thing you promised yourself you wouldn't do, one thing!"

Sam watched wide eyes as he gripped his hair in frustration, revealing his face in the process, scrunched up in rage, guilt, and sadness.

She approached him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Nolan, stop! I'm fine!"

Nolan turned to look at her slowly, tears falling from his face.

Sam smiled softly. "It's okay, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Nolan, your two thousand years old, and your home planet wasn't the nicest of places." Sam responded. "Yes, I was scared, but I should've at least thought that you might have some sort of bad history with sudden noises."

Nolan calmed down slightly, gulping. "I'm sorry Sam. I'm so sorry."

Sam smiled, resting her hand on his shoulder, looking up at him with gentle eyes. "It's okay, you didn't mean to."

She brought a hand up to his eyes, wiping away his tears with her thumb.

Nolan glanced at her wrist, where the bruises from his grip had formed. "Sam, your wrist-"

"Don't." She stopped him, looking at him sternly. "My stupid actions led to this, it's not your fault."

Nolan sighed, and looked at her, his face full of regret.

Sam glanced at the sink, and laughed. "Maybe neither of us should touch the dishes, right now."

Nolan smiled slightly. "Maybe."

She grinned, and and began bouncing slightly. "You want to go ahead and get to the diner? We have all day!"

Nolan could tell she was trying to bring his mind off the subject, and he smiled slightly. "Let me go ahead and get ready."

Sam smirked. "Hey, I'm still in my pjs! I'm going first!"

Nolan chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

As she bounded off towards the bathroom, Nolan couldn't help it when his thoughts returned to what had just occurred.

He had let his Viltrumite instincts take over, and he had nearly injured Sam in the process.

Her look of pain was burned into his mind, and it was like a broken record. Every time he'd blink, all he could see was his hands slamming her on the table.

Nolan gritted his teeth. How could he have let this happen?!

He had lived with Debbie and Mark for 17 years without an incident like this! Even when Mark would sneak up on him, he never touched Mark!

But in that time, he had become less Viltrumite, and more human.

His instincts had lessened.

Then the last eight months occurred.

And then two thousand years of ingrained instincts resurfaced.

And it had nearly resulted in Sam getting a broken arm.

God, it tore him up.

And what stumped, was the fact that Sam wasn't angry with him.

Sure, she had flipped out at first, who wouldn't, but the fact that she had tried to get him to forget about it completely.

Sam was… well, he wasn't really sure what she was to him right now, but he knew he cared for her immensely, already.

And he would do anything he could to make it up to her.

To keep her safe. Regardless of the cost.

Homelander was a particularly volatile mood.

Maeve noticed the the first time she saw him since the incident.

After throwing a temper tantrum about the bruise on his face, and complaining to Madelyn about not being sent after Omni-Man himself, the first thing he had done was find her and drag her to his bedroom.

He was extremely rough, not like the usual times where he tried to make her feel good too.

No, this time, it was all about his own relief, his own pleasure.

So with a white knuckle grip on the sheets, she had no choice but to bare it through gritted teeth as he forced her with little to no preparation.

When he was finished, he pulled up his pants and left without a care in the world, leaving her to lie there, sore, used, and angry.

She was getting sick of this.

It seemed that the stunt with Omni-Man had worsened his temper. And she was not going to be nothing more than a sex doll for Homelander.

Grunting, she stood up, retrieving her panties off the floor as she made her way to the bathroom. She was NOT walking around soiled by Homelander.

Before, she was too scared to try and rebel against Vought, simply because Homelander.

Now?

She was not going to live like this anymore.

After cleaning herself and getting her panties back on, she made her way out of the hallway, on the hunt.

She knew that Edgar had sent Black Noir to a theater to find Omni-Man, try and track him. From the sounds of it, it was a dead end.

But she had to start somewhere.

She had finally made up her mind.

She was going to help Omni-Man.

And she was going to take her life back.

A/N: And chapter.

So yeah, Nolan has realized he cares for Sam more than he thought, and Maeve has pretty much said 'fuck it' and is now on the hunt for Omni-Man.

Also, in case you didn't get it, yes, Black Noir kept his word.

As for Homelander's actions, since he's a rapist, it's not that hard to believe that he would regularly abuse or treat Maeve as his own personal stress doll whenever he's pissed, and considering his personality, I feel like it's completely in character for him to walk in, rape, leave when it's someone he's made a victim of already.

And let's be honest, while it's never confirmed or stated directly, we all have this feeling that Homelander has done this to Maeve in canon.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to leave a review, and I'll see all of you in the next chapter.