He couldn't entirely work out why he was sat, well, more precisely, hovering over the top of the Vought building. It was his night off. There was no corporate dinners to attend. There was no film premiere to walk down the red carpet to. He hadn't even been drafted in to patrol the city that night. He was, in a way, bored. Maeve had gone off somewhere and so he didn't even have the option of going to her. Then again, she hadn't entirely been herself in recent weeks. It almost felt as though she resented spending time with him after their relationship had cooled off.

He scoffed. Had it even really been a relationship? He wasn't sure. He knew for definite that the sex had been great, but he always felt as though Maeve was holding back from him. It felt as though she never gave him her complete self. And he wanted that. He knew it was the human part inside of him and he felt pathetic for even thinking it, but a part of him wanted someone to love him unconditionally. Him. Not the show he put on for the cameras. Maeve, he hoped, would have been the one, but he knew now that wasn't going to happen. Madelyn was another story, but ever since she'd had her precious baby boy, she had felt even more closed off than usual.

It was almost funny. Millions of people adored him. Millions of people claimed to love him. But he felt none of it.

Rolling his eyes, he realised that there was no point in dwelling on it. He contemplated heading back into the penthouse, but decided there was no point. Instead, he flew further away from the Tower, moving over the skyline and looking down on people like they were ants. His super hearing let him into numerous conversation. A woman breaking up with a man. A gaggle of friends debating how hot the Deep was. That was enough to make him shudder. It was only as his hearing honed in one something he deemed a bit more interesting did his attention finally shift away from his self-pitying thoughts.

"I told you that I just want the money, sweetheart."

"And I told you that I have about $500 on my card and that's it. You really want to take that from me?"

"I couldn't give a shit about you. Just hand over the purse and I'll let you go."

A damsel in distress. He chuckled as he descended through the sky, keeping a low profile as his feet planted on the ground down the alleyway from where the scene in front of him was unfolding. The street behind him was quiet, practically deserted. Stepping into the alleyway, his hands moved to his hips and he considered his next move. His cape flowed out behind him as he approached the scene, but the two figures hadn't noticed him. He was still bathed in darkness and he froze suddenly, hearing the woman speak in a low voice.

"Listen, this can go one of two ways," she said and the assailant laughed at hearing her and she dropped her satchel to the floor.

His own lips picked up too. She was about five foot four and slight. She looked as though she could hardly fight her way out of a paper bag. But he was intrigued. He wanted to know what would happen and, if he had to, then he would step in. Vought might criticise him for an unsanctioned patrol, but he didn't exactly care. It always helped his points when he saved a woman from a mugger or an abuser.

"Oh, you're serious," the man said and he honed in on him. He was holding a switchblade in his calloused hands, his fingernails dirty and specks of muck covering his face. He had a black hoodie on his top and torn jeans on his legs, the hood pulled up to try and cover most of his face, concealing the long, greasy blonde hair beneath it. He continued laughing as he advanced on the woman, but she remained where she was, feet planted firmly to the floor.

"Deadly," she responded.

The man shook his head once and held his knife up. "Then I'm sorry."

But before he could get close to her, she moved her arm, palm pushing up into his nose with as much force as possible. A loud scream of pain echoed through the alley as he dropped the knife and the woman kept her arms held in front of her, hands balled into fists. She looked ready for a fight. It was another moment before she cocked her head to the side.

"I warned you," she commented and he spat onto the ground, dropping his hands from his face. Advancing towards her, he clenched his fingers into a fist and prepared to attack.

He managed to grab hold of the woman, catching her wrist as she threw a punch at him and he hit her across the face, the force causing her lip to split. She didn't dwell on that though. Instead, she brought her knee up to his groin and kneed him as hard as possible. He stumbled back, but not before pushing her away. She lost her footing and fell to the floor, her hands stretched in front of her and grazing from the impact.

"You little bitch!" he snapped at her, still clearly in pain from where she had hit him.

"Get the fuck away from me," she snarled back at him and pushed herself to her feet again, clearly ready to go again.

But he'd had enough. Moving from the shadows, his footsteps were heavy and purposeful. "You know," he said in that charming drawl he used whenever he was on camera. "Where I'm from, it's not exactly considered nice to mug a young woman."

Both sets of eyes turned onto him, widening in shock as to who it was making his presence known. The young woman didn't even look bothered by his presence. The man, on the other hand, panicked. His hands moved to the air in surrender and he backed away down the alley, towards the chain-link fence at the other end of it.

"Homelander…man…listen…I'm sorry-"

"-Sorry?" Homelander interrupted him, cape flowing out behind him as he continued walking down the alley, the young woman stepping to the side and letting him go by. "Is that supposed to mean something to me? Is that supposed to make me take pity on you?"

It was then when he heard it. There was a noise at the other end of the alley from the main street. Hands clenching by his side, he bowed his head and realised what this meant. He was being watched. A group of people had congregated on the sidewalk. He could hear them talk, whispering about how they were getting to watch the Homelander in action. Before he could even get his eyes to heat up, he realised that he had to play this one differently.

"No, you see, you're going to have to wait here for the police to deal with you," he declared. Before the assailant could run to the fence, Homelander had grabbed his arm. He twisted it behind his back and forced him to kneel down before reaching for a discarded steel pipe next to the fence. Twisting it easily, he secured the man's wrist to the fence, stopping him from going anywhere. He tried to pull, but it was useless. He was stuck there.

"Nothing to see here, folks!" Homelander called out to the five people who had formed a crowd around him. He raised his hand in greeting, the smile plastering itself onto his face. "If one of you could call the police then I'd be grateful."

The woman was silent, not even moving from where she was pressed against the wall. He turned towards her, the smile still on his face. He moved closer to her, the five people still giving them space but clearly debating when it was the right time to ask for a selfie from him. Honestly, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at such a reaction. He dipped his head so that he was closer to her height.

"You alright there?" he asked from her.

She nodded once. "Fine," she spoke, her voice coming out in a squeak before she coughed, clearing her throat. "Thanks."

"Well, I think you had it covered," Homelander continued, the smile still on his face. "Where did a little thing like you learn how to fight like that?" he questioned.

"Self-defence class," she said and Homelander's brow knitted together.

"I see they came to good use," he nodded his head. "Do you need to go to the hospital? You're bleeding…I think he split your lip."

Reaching his gloved hand towards her, he moved a hand to her cheek, his thumb brushing along her lip and collecting the blood that had pooled there. Moving his other hand to her cheek, he then spotted the colouring on her pale skin. "And he's bruised you," he said.

He stepped closer to her, his body inches from hers. He inhaled, her perfume wafting into his nose. She had a floral scent, almost like a heavy rose. She looked up at him, her dark blue eyes focusing on him as his light blue eyes roamed over her face for a brief moment. This was not the usual response he was used to. Whenever he saved people, they usually fawned all over him. But, if anything, she seemed almost indifferent.

"Well, listen," Homelander said, "the police should be here soon and I'm sure they'll want to take a statement."

"Of course, yes," she said with a nod of her head and he noted the hint of an accent in her voice. He dropped his hands from her cheeks after fighting back the restraint to handle her carefully. His hands curled around his hips and the young woman moved a shaky hand to her black, curly hair, tucking it behind her ear and then looking up to him. "I'm sorry…look…I'm really grateful for everything you've done…it's just…that's…can…"

He almost wanted to snap at her and tell her to spit out whatever it was she wanted to say, but he knew the people watching still had their cameras rolling. But it seemed that was her issue. Her eyes flickered nervously over to them and he seemed to understand what she was saying. With a wink, he grinned. "Consider it done."

Moving over to the gaggle of people, he put on his usual charm offensive, thanking them for calling the police and for being there. He posed for selfies. He joked with them. He signed a scrap piece of paper. He did everything that Vought had trained him to do. And then he urged them to go home, telling them that he had to stay put. Turning back into the alley, he noted the crook was still fighting his restraints. The woman was leant against the wall, eyes closed and head tilted to the sky.

She had a rip in her thick, woollen tights from where she had fallen. Her black ankle boots looked like they were well worn and she had a short, a-line skirt on her body with a white blouse tucked into it and a leather jacket on top. Before he had a chance to ask her what her deal was, he heard the cop car pull behind him.

Turning the charm back on once again, he informed the officers what had happened. They asked the woman to take a statement and he eavesdropped when she gave her name. Victoria Anderton. She gave her address too and he recognised it as an apartment block in the nicer end of the city. Once the police went to the perp, they asked Victoria if she needed a ride home, but Homelander interjected quickly.

"I can get Miss Anderton home," he declared. "You guys head on back to the station."

"Miss Anderton?" an officer checked and Homelander's jaw tensed at the idea of being challenged.

"It's fine…thank you for your help," she said and he swore he picked up on a British accent. She tapped her foot against the pavement as Homelander bid the cops goodbye and they left, the street abandoned once more. Homelander looked down to Victoria, convinced for the first time since he had arrived that there was no camera on him.

"I suppose it might be for the best if I get you home. I'd hate for you to be mugged twice in one night…wouldn't look great for my ratings if anyone found out."

"You don't need to," Victoria said to him, already moving along the sidewalk and past the closed shops, their shutters tightly pulled down. "I can head to Main Street and catch a cab."

"It's fine. I have nothing better to do."

"That doesn't exactly sound superhero-y of you."

"It can get tiresome being on all the time."

"I bet," Victoria said and he fell into step next to her, staying alongside her as she hugged her satchel tight to her side. "Anyway, thank you for that back there. I didn't mean to come across as insincere or ungrateful. It's just that…being filmed…it's not exactly in my best interest to end up on the news and you seem to be on the news constantly."

Homelander was intrigued then. He didn't know why. He didn't entirely care, but like he said, he was bored. "Why? You running from someone?"

"Something like that," was all she offered back to him.

"Because you're not from here, are you?" he checked with her. "Hint of an English accent, I believe? Although you have been here for a while seeing as how you cover it up most of the time."

"You're very astute," Victoria said to him and he detected a hint of sarcasm. "But I really can get back home alright. I'll catch a cab just around the corner."

"As you wish," Homelander said, convinced that she'd be fine. He could see Main Street around the corner, teaming with people and he knew that she'd be fine. She'd be able to get back safe enough. "Well, Miss Anderton, look after yourself."

"Do my best," she said, a smile gracing the corner of her lips and he watched her walk away from, turning her head over her shoulder to look back at him once more. "And thank you," she said. "Really."

"Anytime," he said.

He waited until she was out of sight, using his x-ray vision to see her hail a cab, pulling her phone from her bag. Climbing into the back of the cab, she disappeared from view, still playing on her phone and he chuckled to himself before flying off, content that he'd had enough excitement for the night.

Being summoned to Stillwell's office usually meant one of two things. She either wanted to praise Homelander for something he had done or criticise him for not doing it right. He didn't even bother to knock, stepping inside and finding her sat behind her desk dressed in strappy sandals and a tight-fitting pink dress. Her blonde hair was full of volume, as usual, and her makeup perfectly applied. She looked up from her computer and saw him approaching. She said nothing as he entered the middle of the room, simply picking up the remote to her TV and turning it on. His image filled the room along with the image of Victoria Anderton. The still frame was centred on him holding onto her cheeks tenderly, looking down to her and she stared up to him.

"What is this?" Madelyn demanded to know.

"I believe it is Vought News, you know, the channel the company owns," Homelander said, eyes drawn to Victoria once more on the screen.

"I don't need your sass right now," Madelyn snapped at him. "You weren't supposed to be on duty, but here you are, on my TV screen, acting as though you are on duty. Last night was supposed to be Translucent's night."

"Sorry to steal his thunder," Homelander said, hands up in defence and not an inch of regret in his voice. "Next time I'm off duty, I'll just leave someone to get mugged."

"Never bothered you before." Madelyn said and she noted the twitch in his jaw. She knew when not to push him too far. She knew that she had to be careful with what she said. She could get away with things, but only to a certain extent. "Listen, I just need you to be careful, alright? I don't want the press to get wind of something they shouldn't…but your little stunt last night, well, it went down a treat."

"Really?"

"You're already up four points and…well…the gossip columns are having a field day with it," Madelyn said and she picked up her tablet, swiping onto the stories. She handed the tablet to Homelander who eyed her cautiously before looking down onto the screen himself, his gloved finger running over the numerous tabs with the article open on them, ridiculous headlines on them.

'Homelander rescues a damsel in distress'

'Superhero's sweetheart? Who is the mystery woman?'

"Well this is bullshit," Homelander said, tossing the tablet onto the coffee table and sitting down on the couch by the window. "If anything, I think she'd have been able to take him on herself. She practically did."

"You know what the press are like. They love nothing more than a helpless woman and a man who can save her…but it did get the board thinking."

"What?"

"Well, your image…it couldn't hurt for you to be seen with someone. You're polling consistently, we're not denying that, but it's been a while since you've dated. It's been a while since-"

"-Absolutely not," Homelander interrupted, shaking his head. "I am not dating someone so that my numbers can improve. I don't need to date someone to be able to achieve that. I do fine on my own."

"And I don't doubt that," Madelyn promised him, sitting down next to him and leaving a small gap between them. A hand moved to his arm, feeling the material of his suit beneath her fingertips. "But think about it. All you would have to do would be to take her out a few times, have her clinging to your arm…the pretty little law student who you rescued…fallen for your charm."

His brows knitted together. "How do you know she's a law student?" he queried.

"We did our digging," Madelyn said. "Wasn't too hard to get the police report and from there we looked into her. She's a PhD student at Columbia University School of Law…going into her final year, working as a teaching assistant there too."

"Well, that all sounds fascinating," Homelander said, his tone sarcastic. "But that still doesn't mean I'm interested in fake dating someone. Besides, she wouldn't be interested. She freaked out when she saw a camera on her yesterday…like she's running away from something."

"For the right price, I'm sure she'd be interested. She's a twenty-eight year old student. She's not exactly swimming in money."

"Is me saying no not doing anything to make you give this up?"

"Look, if you really want to then fine," Madelyn said, giving his arm a squeeze and then running her hand to his shoulder. "But Jessica said it would poll well with your audience…and those you're struggling to get on side…young women who think you're obnoxious…showing a softer side of you would help…appearing on more chat shows…a new movie deal…just think about it. A few months of pain for months of gain."

Homelander sighed as he reclined into Madelyn's touch, his cheek filling her palm and he closed his eyes, biting his tongue before speaking. "Fine," he said and Madelyn wanted to smirk at how easy it was to get him to do her bidding, but she didn't. She remained where she was, cooing over how good he was and how this would work for him in the long run. He'd see.

They hadn't anticipated her to say no. No one ever said no to Vought. They'd offered her enough money to pay off her student debts. They'd even gone back with a second offer. Still, she refused. She'd hung up the phone to Madelyn Stillwell herself and tossed it into her bag before going into the library. Opening up her laptop at a single desk overlooking the campus ground, she muted the machine to stop the pinging of the emails coming through from distracting her as she pulled open her thesis.

Putting her earphones in one bud at a time, she turned her music on and began looking over her supervisor's comments. Her fingers tapped on the keys and she settled into a familiar rhythm. She was completely oblivious, half an hour in, to the noise coming from behind her of steady gasps and whispers of excitement. It was only when a hand touched her shoulder did she flinch, startled from her work. Pulling her earbuds out, she dropped them on the table and turned around, mouth gaping open when she saw him stood there, dressed in all his costumed glory. Her lips opened and closed like a fish as he looked to her with a confident smirk.

"You're ignoring our calls."

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, scrambling from her chair and causing more of a commotion as it scraped on the wood. Slamming her laptop lid closed, she grabbed his arm and dragged him through the library, ignoring the stares and shockingly bad attempts at subtly filming what was going on.

Homelander let her drag him through the library until they came to the stairwell. She was grateful she was on the fifth floor so most people used the elevators. Once the door had closed behind them, she moved down the steps, hiding between levels so no one could see them there. Homelander sighed and followed her down.

"Listen, I don't like this idea anymore than you, but we both get what we want from it."

She folded her arms stubbornly over her chest. "How would you know what I want?"

"Well, money can never hurt, can it?"

"You're unbelievable," Victoria snapped and Homelander confessed he wasn't used to hearing people talk to him like that. "You think you know me? You think that you can just buy whatever you want? Well, I don't work that way and I'm not going to be bending to Vought's will. The answer is still no."

"They sent me here to try and persuade you, so how about six million for six months?"

"Are you not listening to me? I don't want money. I just want to be left alone. Why are you so desperate for it to be me? Surely you can just rescue another girl in the street who would be happy with this arrangement?"

"Because they worry it wouldn't look as authentic," he said. "I'm not here to beg you. I never beg. I am here to tell you that Vought usually get their way…by one way or another."

She wrinkled her nose, almost looking disgusted. "Are you threatening me?" she questioned.

"Me? Never," he pointed to himself and then wagged his finger. "I am here to tell you, however, that they can be very persuasive…I mean, look how easily they found you." He laughed at that and Victoria felt her spine stiffen and a chill shoot through her. He wasn't wrong on that point. She bit down on her lip and Homelander moved down the step she was on so that he was on an equal height to her. "Whatever it is you're scared of…running from…Vought don't care."

"Please," Victoria whispered to him. "I can't…I'm not running from anyone, not like that…not like what you think."

"Then what is it?" he asked, growing tired of her antics.

"I don't want my family to know where I am," Victoria said to him. "I left that life behind a long time ago. I changed my mind. I want nothing to do with any of them and if they see me on TV…see where I am…then I don't want them showing up here."

Homelander rolled his eyes, shoulders shrugging. "Is that it?" he asked her. "What? Daddy beat you one too many times-"

"-Shut up," she said, interrupting him. The look he shot her was enough to tell her that she was pushing her luck, but she gave him the same glare right back, not once backing down from him. "This might all be a game to you, but this is my life. This is everything I've worked so hard for."

"Then get over whatever issues you have and agree to this," Homelander spat back at her. "Because I'm done asking nicely."

"What? You coming here and strongarming me into this is asking nicely? Not to mention the blackmail?" Victoria demanded from him, cheeks tinging red. Homelander was almost amused at how angry she seemed to be getting from the situation, but he kept his smirk to himself, teeth biting together. "I don't want to do this."

"We barely get what we want," Homelander retorted. "So just sign the contract and get on with it. If it makes you feel any better, do you know who I am? If you want me to eviscerate your family if they dare make contact then I can just laser them."

"Such a good boyfriend," she said dryly.

"I try," he retorted. "So just figure whatever shit you have going on and agree to the contract because time's ticking. Madelyn Stillwell is expecting to see you in her office at four this afternoon."

"It's beginning to look like I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice," Homelander promised her, sweeping her hair behind her ear. "It just depends on what consequences you're willing to pay."

...

A/N: I am new to this one, but couldn't resist starting a fanfic. Don't worry - this isn't going to be a HEA OOC thing. Hoping there will be lots of twists and turns, but would love to know your thoughts on the first chapter!