Settling down on the couch, Victoria checked her watch on her wrist. She still had two hours before Homelander arrived and they headed on out to Bass River State Forest. She had found a nice little cabin the countryside, secluded and with walking trails dotted around. She'd hired a car for the weekend, insisting on driving as opposed to flying because she was tired of being cold and not being able to pack much for her trips. She'd loaded the car already with food and drink, her suitcase by the door and waiting for her to wheel it on down after dinner with Michelle and Daniella.

The pizza they had ordered sat on the coffee table, balancing precariously on stacks of Cosmo and Vogue magazines, one of which had Victoria's face on it that Michelle had insisted they buy and keep there, claiming it would be a great talking point and saying how amazing it was to have a friend on the cover of a magazine. Picking up a slice of the pepperoni pizza, Victoria chewed down on the edge of it before Michelle spoke.

She was sat in the armchair in the corner, legs crossed and cradling a glass of wine. Daniella was the other side of Victoria on the couch, practically laid flat across the cushions and holding her stomach.

"So, you know we've been dying to ask you about the Expo," Michelle said and Victoria groaned.

"We've avoided it most of the night," Daniella pointed out to her. "And we saw both the speech that Homelander and Starlight made. It was insane."

"There's a lot to unpack," Michelle said. "So, how about we start with Homelander. What the hell was that speech because he sounded like a crazed dictator who was willing to take the law into his own hands?"

"Which we obviously know can't be true because you would never date a guy like that," Daniella added on and Victoria shrugged, feeling her appetite dissolve. She dropped the pizza back into the box and sat back, cradling her legs to her chest and hooking her arms around them. She placed her chin on her kneecaps and remembered the speech she would rather forget.

"I hated what he said," Victoria confessed to her friends, but she didn't want to spend hours talking about it. She'd already had the discussion with Homelander and they'd cleared the air. "But he…he knows his audience. He knows what they want to hear and I think he was trying to appeal to them and also trying to get Congress to listen to him because he doesn't want another repeat of Flight 39 when he knows that supes can help. I think what he saw, the plane going down, it impacted him. He wants action."

"So he didn't entirely mean what he said?" Daniella checked, shifting to sit up and reach for her own glass of her wine. She took a stip and then leant back, curling her legs beneath her.

"I don't think so," Victoria said. "No, scratch that, he didn't. That's not who he is. The entire weight of Vought is on his shoulders. He has to appeal to his base. He has to keep his polling numbers high. He has to do all that and also want to do good like he did for Flight 39. I think the pressure gets to him and sometimes he says the wrong thing with the best intentions…not that his supporters think he said the wrong thing."

"But you did?" Michelle continued to push.

"Of course," Victoria said. "We had a massive argument about it and he explained himself. We worked things out in the end and I got where he was coming from and he got where I was coming from. Things are fine and he's not planning on breaking international law."

"Glad to hear it," Daniella said. "And everything is fine between you two now? No more arguments? No more disagreements?"

Victoria shrugged. "Everything seems fine," she replied. "I've been at his most of the week and we were fine at the charity dinner we went to for the fire service. I'm hoping this weekend away will be good for us and what we need. We've had some disagreements and some rough patches, mainly thanks to Vought and my brother. I just want it to be us."

"You don't feel as though you're drifting, do you?" Michelle checked but Victoria quickly shook her head.

"No, we're still us," she replied. "It's just that things keep getting in the way of letting that happen and it becomes difficult. But we're okay. We'll be fine."

"Really?" Michelle asked her. "Because you don't look fine-"

"-Can you drop it, Michelle?" Victoria snapped, interrupting her friend. Her tone was harsh and standoffish. Looking to Michelle, she noted her friend instantly look down to her lap, holding a hand up in silent apology. Victoria instantly felt bad and she pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It's just…there's a lot going on that I don't want to involve you guys in. It's no excuse for being a bitch, though."

"You're not a bitch," Daniella assured her.

"Most of the time," Michelle tagged on and Victoria looked to her, but her lips had turned upwards slightly, indicating that she was fine and joking with her slightly. She nodded to Victoria who mouthed 'sorry' to her and hoped that was the end of it. "But you can tell us what is going on with you. We are your friends."

"It's Billy."

"Your brother?"

"He was at the Expo and I saw him," Victoria confessed, stretching her legs once more, folding one leg over the other. "I told him that I knew what he had done. I told him that I knew all about the kidnapping…and he denied it all. He told me that Homelander was lying to me and that nothing had happened. The kidnapping wasn't him. He was being framed."

"Who by?"

"Homelander," Victoria replied and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I know it's bullshit. I know Homelander would never frame Billy, but the look on his face…the way he was looking at me…shit…it almost felt genuine. It almost felt as though he was telling me the truth and I just can't get away from this niggling feeling telling me that I should talk to him."

"Do you think so?" Michelle asked.

"Do you not?" Victoria questioned her back and Michelle shrugged her shoulders softly, placing her wine glass down onto the coffee table.

"I don't know," Michelle said. "I just wonder what you're going to get out of it really. I think your brother is probably a good actor to have fooled you before and maybe he's really good at manipulating you. Are you going to go there and change your mind on Homelander?"

"Doubt it," Victoria scoffed.

"There you go," Michelle responded. "I think that it's like your family just want to try and manipulate you. I mean, this guy kidnapped you to blackmail your brother. I don't think trying to talk to you and get what he wants from you is beyond his remit. And who is to say that he wouldn't try and hurt you again?"

"All valid points," Daniella confirmed. "But, just to play devil's advocate, what if he is right? What if someone is setting him up to Vought?"

"Who would set him up?" Victoria wondered.

"I have no idea," Daniella replied. "But I think that it might be possible that he's telling the truth. You have a gut feeling, right? Usually, gut feelings always lead us right. Maybe just meet somewhere public and hear him out? Listen to him and get the facts before making a decision. You're usually so rational, Vicky, until people get to know you and then your emotions are easy to see. Be rational and get to the bottom of what he wants to say."

"It might not hurt," Michelle relented. "But you don't have to do anything just yet or be pressured into anything. It's your choice at the end of the day."

"Definitely," Daniella concurred on that point and Victoria smiled sadly between her two friends and nodded.

"Thanks," she said to them, the gratitude heartfelt. "I really don't know what I'd do without you two."

"Oh, you'd definitely not make it far," Michelle said and moved to embrace her, the three of them collapsing onto the couch together and laughing.

…

"I just don't see why we have to drive."

Victoria had hoped that by setting off later at night, they might miss traffic. But then she remembered that in New York City, you never missed traffic. It almost looked quite funny, her sat in the driver's seat of the rented sedan car and Homelander in the passenger side. They were so close to being out of the city and onto the highway where Victoria intended to put her foot down and hope that they made it to the cabin before one in the morning.

"Because it's normal," Victoria said to him, her foot shifting between the gas and brake pedal as they crawled forwards. "I just wanted to do something normal for a change and drive somewhere as opposed to fly. I liked driving when I learned back at university. Plus, you look funny sat there as people walk past and spot you."

"I'll probably be all over the internet by tomorrow."

"A meme if you're lucky," she said and looked to him, smiling. He finally broke out into a smile at seeing her and relented, sitting back in the chair. Shaking his head, he realised that this would be fine. He could sit in traffic if it humoured Victoria. He could pretend that a road trip sounded exciting.

"Next time we go away, I'm taking you over the Atlantic to Paris," he said to her and she scoffed.

"I let you carry me the several blocks between my apartment and Vought Towers, but I draw the line at the Atlantic," she said to him with a shake of her head. "If you want a romantic weekend in Paris then you can fly and I'll meet you at Charles de Gaulle."

"Where's your sense of spontaneity?" he questioned.

"Living safely can be spontaneous," she said to him. "And look, we're now moving a bit quicker. We'll be there in no time."

He looked to the satellite navigation system in the middle of the car. "The GPS still says we have an hour and a half to go."

"Well, we'll be able to find a way to pass the time," she replied.

"I suppose I could try and do that…it is dark, after all," he commented as her foot remained steady on the gas and his hand moved to her thigh, trailing up to the waistband of her skirt. She quickly moved a hand from the wheel and grabbed his, squeezing it before putting it back into his own lap and he chuckled.

"How about we save the foreplay for when I'm not driving and likely to crash."

"I could think of worse ways to go."

"Oh yeah, TMZ would love it 'America's Sweetheart: killed by an orgasm', literally," Victoria said and he continued to smirk. This was what he wanted. This was exactly how he wanted their relationship to be. It felt so easy when there was no Vought, no friends, no brother messing things up. "And as much as I know it wouldn't hurt your ego to read that headline, I think you'd miss me far too much."

"You're probably right."

"Only probably?" she checked.

"Fine, certainly," he responded and Victoria smiled at hearing him before indicating to turn onto the highway, her foot pressing the gas pedal down much harder as the traffic cleared and they were on their way.

She told him to put on some music, letting him take her phone from her bag and pick a playlist. Homelander didn't particularly care what she listened to. He was more invested in listening to her sing badly to some pop song, seeing how carefree she looked as they went. Her voice wasn't perfect. In fact, it was pretty terrible. But she gave it her all. As she moved onto Fleetwood Mac, he shook his head and laughed. Looking to him, she arched a brow for a moment before glancing out the window once more.

"You know, I was actually crowned the karaoke champion."

"How many were competing and were they deaf?" he asked from her.

"Whoa, brutal," she said. "Actually, in fact there were six of us and I do believe that they all were of hearing."

"Not after you were finished, I bet."

"My God, you're horrible," Victoria said, but her face looked entertained and carefree. "You know, keep this up and I won't tell you about the new underwear I bought just for this weekend."

His amused look darkened then and he shook his head. "You wouldn't be able to hold good on that threat," he warned her and she scoffed.

"Don't test me on that," she warned him and then noted that they were heading over to the lane where the cabin was. She turned the lights onto full beam and leant forwards, needing to concentrate on where she was going. Finally, she found the cabin in the middle of nowhere. It was almost like Homelander's, but this one was closer to walking trails around rivers.

Pulling up, she took her phone to the lock box with the key and tapped in the access code. Homelander bought the bags inside and placed the groceries down onto the worktop in the kitchen. It was a small space with modern furnishings and accessories. There was a sunken bath and a walk-in shower along with a king-size bed. Victoria reached for the groceries, but she didn't get far as Homelander came up behind her and grabbed her by the waist. She moved to take hold of his hands and tried to push him away, but he was unrelenting. Victoria laughed against him as he managed to tug the bottom of her shirt from the waistband of the pleated floral skirt she wore.

"I need to put these in the fridge," she said to him, but he was adamant.

"Nope, I think you need to come upstairs right now so that I can see what's under that shirt," he responded and Victoria yelped as he moved her, tossing her firmly over his shoulder and listening to her loud yells of laughter move through the cabin as he carried her up the steps as quickly as he could.

…

The weekend had been pretty idyllic. There was a lazy breakfast followed by a hike through the mountains and towards the lake, not bumping into anyone for miles on end. They had lazy conversations, just comfortable once again in each other's company. Victoria made chicken in a red wine sauce and fries for dinner, sitting at the dining table before moving to the couch and then the balcony that overlooked the treeline. Homelander kept an arm around her shoulders, pulling the blanket up whenever it slipped down her arm and she remained against him. It was there where she fell asleep and he wished that they didn't have to go and do the fake documentary. He'd much rather be anywhere else.

But the weekend went and before he knew it they were being asked to head to a small little village just outside of New York. Victoria drove them and parked a block away from where the filming was taking place. There were minimal crews there, Vought having scattered the Seven around, each of them doing a film about their childhood and how they grew up.

They'd given Homelander something so patriotic that Victoria knew the ideas had come from someone who grew up watching too many films. The house was wooden panelled, painted a crisp white. There was a flag hanging outside the front door, a porch there and a decking wrapping around the house. There was a large barn out the back and in the yard there was a slide and swing. Walking up to the house, Homelander looked at it and Victoria noted the tension in his jaw.

"You alright?" she asked him but then quickly shook her head. "Stupid question, you're obviously not alright."

"I'll get through it," he said to her. "I've learned to fake it when it comes to talking about my family. They want the All-American star, not someone who was created in a fucking lab. They can have it. They have what they want."

"They might want that," Victoria said to him and she moved a hand to his forearm, running her fingers up and down it in a motion she hoped was soothing to him. "But I don't. Never think that I want that. I want you, okay? The good, the bad and the ugly…just like you want me."

Looking down to her, he did his best to comprehend that she was his. This woman was his. She accepted him and he wanted her always to accept him. But he knew that would change if she knew all the truth. She wanted him, even the ugly sides? He doubted she'd be able to handle it. But he found it adorable that she thought that she could. He moved to take hold of her arm and he bent down to kiss her swiftly.

"Let's get this shitshow over with," he said in a gentle voice and she nodded.

He took hold of her hand and approached where the camera crew were stood outside the house. Instantly, he turned the charm on, waving to the crew as Victoria greeted them. She let him go off and be briefed, but he'd done this before. He knew what he had to do. He looked to Victoria before the camera started rolling, a mic hanging just above his head. She flashed him an encouraging smile, silently promising him that she wasn't going anywhere.

They entered the house and Victoria felt her heart ache for him. She listened to him describe his fake mother who loved to play piano, acting his heart out and laughing at the memories of them sitting around the piano together. He talked about how he built airplanes with his father, pointing to where some of them hung in the corner of the sitting room.

The house was pretty compact, the entire crew inside of it a squeeze. Victoria had gone in after Madelyn had suggested in a memo that a good idea might be to have Homelander film as if he was giving her a tour. He was doing one take on his own, but then the other would be with her. Whichever worked best was the one that was going to be used. Victoria took a deep breath as she looked at the fake family photos dotted around, a small blond child filling most of them.

Would people think less of Homelander if they knew the truth? Would they actually not be as invested in him if they knew that Vought had made him? Victoria was well aware that he was one of the only supes who had been created. She had no idea about Compound V. She had no idea other supes had been injected with it. She just thought that Homelander had been made from other supes and raised to become who he was. He was a guinea pig for Vought. He was their poster child and the poster child obviously needed a picture-perfect upbringing.

But it wasn't right. He was living a lie. Living like he had, it couldn't have been easy. Victoria knew all about that, but at least she'd had friends. She'd had people looking out for her wellbeing and she didn't think that he had that. And watching him as he fake smiled to the camera, she knew it wasn't right. He shouldn't be asked to do this. Being here, listening to him lie, she didn't know how he was doing it.

She wanted to shout at them to cut. She wanted to drag him out of there and head back to the cabin where they had been so happy just a few hours ago. She might not be able physically to protect him, but she could try and help him emotionally. She just didn't know he might react to her doing it.

"What is that doing there?"

Victoria snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Homelander's cheery voice change to one of anger. He was looking to the bed, glancing at a blue blanket that was laid on the bed. Victoria looked at it again and she knew that it must mean something to him because it had triggered a volatile reaction.

"Who the fuck put that blanket there?" Homelander demanded to know, voice heavy and a snap.

The crew looked around at each other, exchanging glances. None of them clearly wanted to own up to it.

"Randy Set-Dec," the producer said, stammering slightly.

"Who the fuck is Randy Set-Dec?" Homelander asked the producer and he raised a shaking hand towards a man in the corner behind the door. "Randy, what the fuck?" Homelander asked, picking the blanket up and tossing at him before he stormed out of the room and Victoria watched him sweep by.

The producer instantly looked to him and around at the gormless faces in the room. "What the hell just happened?" he asked and Victoria shook her head.

"Just leave him," she said to him but she chased after him.

He had stormed out the front door and Victoria caught him up and saw him walking around the decking and towards the back of the house. The heels of her ankle boots clicked against the wood and the mac she wore flowed behind her as she finally saw him staring onto the slide, holding a baseball in his fingertips.

"We can go," Victoria said to him. "We can get in the car and we can go."

His jaw was tensed and his eyes focused directly in front of him as he heard her. He knew that would be the best scenario. It was what he wanted. He wanted to go. He wanted to leave and never return to this stupid house again.

"The production company would just have me do this again," he said and Victoria took another step towards him.

"You don't need to," Victoria said to him with a shake of her head.

"I think you'll find my contract says I need to."

"And how much to break that contract?" she asked from him. "How much to ignore that clause?"

"Probably a tiny amount compared to what I've grossed for them," he scoffed, well aware that would be the case. He looked down to her as she stood a few inches away from him and watched him, trying to weigh him up. "But they treat me like this and still think that I will do what they want. How would they feel? Being raised like a lab rat…in a room with no windows…they have no idea. And then they put that fucking blanket there."

"They don't know," Victoria said to him and he sighed before looking away again.

"That blanket…it was the only thing I had in the cell with me," he explained to her. He would tell her. He trusted her not to say anything because it was personal to him. "The doctors would play peek-a-boo with me and I'd use that blanket to hide behind. It was the only thing I had that was from my childhood…nothing else…no stuffed bear like you…just that fucking blanket that I never want to see again in my life."

Victoria nodded and moved a hand to take hold of his. "I can go in there and sort it," she promised him. "You don't need to look at it again. I can do that and then it's up to you. You can do what you want to do."

Watching her, his eyes moved over her features slowly and he realised what it was he wanted to do. "I want to go back to the cabin," he decided on saying. "I want to forget this fake family exists and I want to go back to the reality that I was living a few hours ago because, for once in my life, reality was better than imagination."

Victoria nodded her head and squeezed his hand. "I can do that," she said to him. "I can go in there and tell them that you're done for the day. We can get away from here."

He nodded his head and Victoria pecked him on the cheek.

"I just need some air," he said and she let him go. He threw the baseball into the air and caught it as it came back down from metres up high.

She turned on her heel and headed back towards the house, but she froze when she noted Madelyn had parked up. She was climbing out of her large SUV, her eyes glancing around. Victoria looked to her and stuffed her hands into her pockets. She waited on the top step of the porch and Madelyn locked her car, heading up to meet her.

"I was on my way out here when I got a call," Madelyn said to Victoria. "What's gone on?"

"He can't do this," Victoria said and Madelyn frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"This!" Victoria exclaimed, pointing to the house. "Do you have any idea what it's doing to him? He's faking an entire family. He's faking the one thing he's never had and he clearly longs for. We have no idea how that might feel for him…but it's too much. Even supes have breaking points and if he keeps doing this then he's going to hit his. He's going to break because you'll have pushed him too far."

"It's just acting. He's acted before," Madelyn said.

"Yeah, in large budget action movies, not personal stuff like this," Victoria retorted. "Come on, Madelyn. I know you don't like me. I know you think that I'm causing trouble."

"You have no idea what I think," Madelyn said to her.

"Whatever," Victoria said. "But whatever you think, I am trying to look out for him. I just want him to be happy."

"And you think I don't?"

"I think maybe you do, but you also have a job to do," Victoria said. "And I get that you have a job to do, but this isn't about my job. I am here for him and him only. And he can't do this. He doesn't want to do this and he shouldn't be forced to do something he doesn't want to."

Madelyn watched Victoria for a few moments before nodding her head. "Where is he?" she asked. "Let me just talk to him and make sure he's alright. You do what you need to and I'll go to him."

"He went for a walk in the yard," Victoria said to her and Madelyn nodded, taking off after him.

Victoria watched her back before she headed into the cabin. She spoke to the producer quickly, telling him that Homelander needed time and wouldn't be able to film on that day. She left him seething, but he didn't dare openly seethe against her, knowing that it wouldn't go down well. Plus, he didn't want to answer to Homelander. He didn't want the same treatment he'd given Randy.

Leaving the producer to explain to the rest of the crew, Victoria headed on back around the house. Homelander had disappeared from view and there was no sign of Madelyn. Sighing, Victoria pulled her hair over one shoulder before moving onto the lawn. She looked to the barn at the back before she heard voices whispering. She knew that she shouldn't eavesdrop. She knew it wasn't right, but she couldn't stop herself.

"I know that this is hard for you," Madelyn said to him.

"Really? Because how would all of this make you feel? All of this fake bullshit?"

"I wouldn't like it," Madelyn confessed to him. "And I'll make sure that Randy is fired for the blanket mishap. But right now, we need to finish the tour and you need to tell them how down-to-earth you are…"

Victoria frowned, the voice grew quieter and she heard Madelyn's usually stern voice go low and husky. Victoria's blood turned cold and she moved forwards.

"I need you to do this…I need you to do this for me…please…my good boy…"

Victoria thought she was going to be sick as she finally moved her body towards the entrance of the barn. She moved just in time to see Madelyn's hand on Homelander's crotch, her mouth by his ear and his hand going around her wrist, his face contorted and his gaze looking down. He took her hand from his crotch and Victoria could only stand in front of them as they realised that she was there. Homelander had been so distracted by his anger and Madelyn's comments that he hadn't even heard her.

"What the fuck?" Victoria demanded and Madelyn looked up, instantly jumping away from Homelander.

"Victoria, this isn't what it looks like," Madelyn said to her and Victoria shook her head.

"Really?" she demanded. "Because it looks like you were about to give my boyfriend a hand job in the middle of a barn to make him do this bullshit documentary."

"No, I just need him to do this." Madelyn said. "There's nothing going on between us."

"Seriously?" Victoria demanded. "Or do all of the Seven get this treatment? I heard you…your good boy…how long has this been going on?"

"Not since I fell for you," Homelander said, looking her in the eye and Victoria watched him intently. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe what he was telling her. Shaking her head, she needed time for air. She turned on her heel and walked away, her brown mac flowing behind her and her hair also blowing in the wind.

She could hear Madelyn call for Homelander to come back to her, but he wasn't listening. He was chasing after Victoria. Madelyn watched him go and she realised then that his choice had been made. He had chosen Victoria over her. And he always would do, no matter what she said or what she thought he needed to hear.

"Victoria, wait," Homelander urged from her and she was moving further past the barn towards the field. He grabbed her arm and stopped her from going. She turned around to face him and looked him in the eye. Her long-sleeved navy shirt was askew on her body from him pulling on its sleeve, some of it coming out of the pleated navy patterned skirt she wore.

"Promise me," she said to him. "Promise me that you haven't been with her since we started to get to know each other…where things became real…"

"I promise you," he said to her. "I haven't wanted her since I've gotten to know you. I swear to you, Victoria, that I haven't wanted her."

Victoria nodded her head once. She gulped, swallowing hard and trying not to cry. "Fine," she said to him. "I believe you."

She did? He couldn't help but think how easy that had been considering she usually fought him on most things. Their last argument about him having cheated on Maeve had lasted much longer than this one. But clearly, this one wasn't going to.

"You do?" he asked from her.

"I saw you take her hand off of you," Victoria said to him. "And you promised never to lie to me. So, if you promise you're telling the truth then I believe you."

"I am," he assured her.

"But…when did it start?" Victoria dared to ask from him and he took a moment to inhale a sharp breath and look away. Moving a hand to hold onto his, she knew that today was difficult for him. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy. "I heard the way she was talking to you. I heard what she was saying…how she was trying to manipulate you. I heard it all and I just…I need to know how long because…it's not right. She shouldn't be using you like that."

"She hasn't used me," Homelander said, denying it entirely and shaking his head as Victoria watched him.

She didn't want to push him on it. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but she wanted him to know that it was wrong. Whatever Madelyn was doing was wrong, especially if Victoria's suspicions were correct and she suspected they might be. Victoria took hold of his cheek inside of her palm, running her thumb over his cheekbone. He looked down to her and gulped once more.

"Since I joined the Seven," he said to her and Victoria shook her head slowly.

"She's…you were too young," Victoria whispered to him. "You grew up without knowing a loving family and she…"

"I haven't been manipulated by her," Homelander said firmly. The idea of anyone thinking that he could be manipulated was almost comical. But he knew what he wanted from Madelyn. He wanted her approval. He wanted her to be proud of him. He needed to be good for her. But he was slowly moving away from feeling like that. He was beginning to have a change of heart. He was beginning to know exactly what he wanted and it wasn't Madelyn's approval.

"John, I just saw her try to use sex to get you to do her bidding," Victoria said. "That's manipulation. How many times has she done that to you before?"

"I don't know," he confessed to her on that point and Victoria looked to the sky.

Fuck, she didn't know how to cope with this. She didn't know what she should be doing. Listening to him, she knew that Madelyn was in the wrong. She knew that she had been playing him and that made Victoria feel sick. But the main issue was that he was unlikely to say anything or see it that way. She should know. She'd been manipulated before. It took her a moment to gather herself as Homelander watched her, knowing that he had to do something to diffuse the situation.

"I've got half a mind to go back there and give her a piece of mind," Victoria muttered.

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Victoria," Homelander said to her. "I know what I'm doing. I know what I want."

"And what's that?" she questioned.

"I want you to leave it alone. What you just saw, I want you to forget you ever saw it. I want you to forget it ever happened. What I had with Madelyn is over. We're no longer together in any way."

"You want me to forget that I've basically discovered that she's been grooming you?" Victoria questioned from him and he nodded his head firmly, hands dropping to his hips.

He took a moment to continue watching her as she pointed back to Madelyn in the barn.

"I am not being groomed. I'm able to control myself."

"Really? So you've never done what she wanted as soon as she asks you and praises you?" Victoria questions from him. "Because that's literally what grooming is, John. That's what she's done to you and it's so wrong. It's disgusting. I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want her to have any power over you."

Homelander was about to ask her what the difference was between Madelyn having a hold over him and Victoria. Did she not realise that he had done things for her? He had done things specifically for her. But then he supposed the difference was that she never knew. She had no idea what he had done. She had no idea that he had dealt with her brother to keep her from him. She had no idea that he had gone to Eddie and taken care of him. She had no idea that he kept things from her so that she remained ignorant in her happy little bubble with him.

"I don't want to discuss it," Homelander simply said to her with a firm voice. "I'm not cheating on you. I'm not letting Madelyn dictate what I do."

"But-"

"-No," Homelander interrupted her, his voice firm. "I can stick up for myself, Vicky. I can handle this and I've handled it. I don't need you fighting my corner. Do you know who I am? I'm-"

"-I know, you're the fucking Homelander," she now interrupted him and flapped her arms by her side. "But that doesn't mean you're invincible. It doesn't mean that you don't feel like everyone else. You might not need me fighting your battles, but I want to fight them. I want to be in your corner and defend you because…shit…I love you, John. I love you and being here…seeing this sad excuse for a fake childhood that they're making you pretend you have…knowing that Madelyn has used you…it breaks my heart, don't you get it?"

She placed a hand to her chest and he watched her, his eyes darting around her face. He could easily see the pain in her eyes as she looked to him and he wondered why she was the one who was upset. It was him in the middle of this godforsaken fake childhood, not her.

"And I want to help you. I want to try and protect you. I can't physically protect you, no matter how many self-defence classes I take…but knowing what you've been through…how you've been treated emotionally…I want to protect you like that. I want to protect you from being hurt anymore because it's the only way I can protect you," Victoria explained to him.

Listening to her intently, her words seeped in and he just continued to stare at her. "You want…you want to protect me?"

"Is that not obvious?" Victoria questioned from him. "Why do you think I never wanted you to do this? Why do you think I push back against Madelyn so often? I do what I can to try and protect you because I love you."

He stepped forwards then, his hands cupping her neck and bringing her lips to meet his. Kissing her forcefully, his lips moved over hers and she did everything she could to try and remained focused, but that was proving difficult as he kissed her forcefully, fingers tangling into her hair. He pulled back for her after a few moments, seeing her puckered lips and flushed cheeks.

"We're leaving," he said to her firmly.

"What about-"

"-I don't give a fuck about the documentary. I don't give a fuck about Madelyn. We're leaving and we're going back to that cabin."

His voice was forceful and Victoria was almost reluctant to argue with him. She knew that he didn't want to talk about it. He clearly didn't want to think about Madelyn or the documentary or anything that had just happened. And Victoria, as much as she wanted to try and talk it through, she knew that wasn't him. It wasn't what he wanted and she respected that, just as he had respected giving her time to open up about her past. He was able to give her that and so she could give him this.

She nodded her head once and looked at him. "Whatever you want," she offered to him.

Nodding firmly, he moved his hand to hers, grabbing hold of it. They headed on out back by the barn, Madelyn having disappeared already. The film crew were also packing away. Madelyn must have told them that nothing was happening. Walking back to the car, Victoria sat in the driver's side and he slipped into the passenger seat. She pushed the key into the ignition and drove off without another word.

The silence was tense on the way back to the cabin, neither of them saying a word to each other. They were both trapped in their thoughts, Victoria biting her lip and wondering just what was going to happen. Would Madelyn try and make contact? Would Homelander say anything to her? They finally arrived back at the cabin an hour later. Victoria found the key in her pocket and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, she had no time to say anything before Homelander was crowding her against it, his hands going to hold onto the back of her head tenderly. This kiss was less forceful and more tender, almost as though he was being delicate with her. And she let him. She let him take the lead. She let him guide her to the sofa and tug her skirt down her legs. She wanted to give him everything he needed.

…

Laying on her back, Victoria ran her fingers through his hair as he rested by her chest, his hand holding onto hers. The rug was ticklish beneath her skin which was covered in a sheen of sweat. Her hair was stuck to her face and her cheeks were tinged red. The throw from the sofa was draped over them, but Victoria hardly needed it with how warm she was. He hadn't said anything to her since they had finished and she wanted to let him be the one to talk.

"You're not going to tell anyone about today, are you?" he asked, thumb stroking over the back of her knuckles.

"Not if you don't want me to," she said. And that was it. It was what he wanted, not what she wanted, and she knew that.

"Thank you," he replied with a soft whisper and Victoria continued stroking his hair back.

They stayed like that for a while longer before getting up. Victoria checked her phone and had seen that Starlight had finally messaged her back. She had messaged her as soon as she'd seen her speech and asked her if she needed anything and if she was alright. She'd simply told Victoria that she was skipping town for a while and would be back. She'd messaged her to tell her that she was fine and wanted to meet when Victoria returned. Homelander took hold of the milk from the fridge, pouring himself a glass and drinking it quickly.

"I think your phone is going off," Victoria commented, wrapping the blanket under her arms to cover herself. She headed to the kitchen and he shrugged, placing the glass down.

"I'll deal with it in a minute," he said and Victoria nodded, picking a bottle of water out and sipping on it. Glancing down to her, he lifted the back of his hand up and brushed it down the length of her hair. "Do you think we can just forget today ever happened?" he asked from her.

"Is that what you want?"

"Yeah," he said. "I just need to forget it. It's not important."

Victoria wasn't entirely convinced, but she nodded. He bent down and kissed her once more before reaching for his phone and seeing that A-Train had left him a voicemail. He told Victoria that he needed to take the call and she let him go. Listening to the voicemail as he sat in the bedroom, he heard A-Train tell him that he'd found something. A-Train knew about some people getting into Popclaw's apartment because they'd discovered he'd been dosing. He'd tracked down a French man, but then he'd discovered him and who he was working with.

Homelander knew about A-Train's doping and Popclaw's involvement. He'd warned him to clean up his act and to tell him what he found. Turned out that he might have information Homelander wanted. Some former supe apparently had some information that would be interesting to him. Interesting because he had found the French man A-Train had been looking for. And he had been with William Butcher. Homelander hung up the voicemail and placed the phone to his chin. He could feel everything closing in on him. But he wasn't going to let that happen.

He'd deal with all of them anyway he had to.

...

A/N: So things are coming to a conclusion now! Not sure if anyone is still reading, but if so please do let me know! And let me know if you want me to keep going into season 2 and 3. Pretty please let me know if you're still with me!