Homelander had drifted off to sleep at about four in the morning after Victoria had gone to sleep. He had watched her for a while, seeing her breathing shallow before her lips parted and her breathing changed. He had laid by her side, longing to wrap his arms around her, but he knew that might be too far. He knew that last night would have been a one off for her. It was hardly likely that she would let him near her again in the cold light of day, but he would be damned if he stopped trying. The night before she just needed someone to make her forget everything for a few hours and he had been the one to do that. She was vulnerable. She was weak. She put on the best act in front of people, but as she'd come down from her pleasure, front pressed against his, head by his neck, he'd let her cry against him.
Once he'd woken up, he checked the time on his phone that was on his bedside cabinet. It had gone eight. He looked to the side and knew already that she had gone. He could already hear the shower running in the bathroom. Pushing the duvet back, he stood up and headed towards it. Stepping into the bathroom, it was steamed up already, feeling tropic. Moving over towards the corner, he poked his head around the tiled wall to the walk-in shower. She was stood underneath it, water dripping down her body, head tilted up to the stream of water.
"You alright?" he questioned and saw her jump, hand going to her chest. Keeping her back to him, she turned her head over her shoulder.
"I didn't hear you come in," she said.
"Sorry," he apologised. "I just wanted to check you were okay."
"Except for Daniella texting me to tell me that she thinks it'd be best if I didn't come to her birthday party next week? Yeah, I'm great," Victoria said and he folded his arms over his chest, their nakedness not bothering either of them. He saw Victoria turn around slightly and reach for her shampoo from the ledge. "And she's not going to be coming to Evelyn's Christening…or…or being her godmother."
"Fuck me," Homelander complained, wondering just where this woman got her dramatics from. "Is she being serious?"
"Seems to be," Victoria retorted, her hair growing with suds and her face blotted red. She'd been crying about, no doubt hiding in the shower to mask her tears. She massaged her fingers through her scalp and Homelander stepped further into the shower, pushing his luck as he came up behind her, arm going around her waist.
"John," she muttered his name.
"I know, darling," he said to her, hand snaking up her waist towards her breast. "Just forget them…we're still here…in this hotel room…just forget everything."
"I'm still sore," she whispered, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as his fingers closed around her breast, his grip slightly tight. "And those are sensitive," she said to him and he knew precisely what the issue was. He didn't seem to mind, however, dipping down to kiss her neck tenderly, sweeping her wet hair from her shoulder to give him access as the water poured down around the two of them. Victoria moaned softly as his other hand dipped between her legs.
"Let me make you feel good, sweetheart," he whispered hotly against her ear, his teeth nipping at it.
"I need to…John…I'm leaking," she said and he looked down over her shoulder, unable to glance away as he kissed her shoulder and shook his head. She tried to move his hands from her, but he held firm, turning her round and pushing her against the shower wall softly, making her gasp as he grasped her hips.
"I told you that I can make you feel good," he said to her, voice darkening slightly and Victoria remained frozen on the spot as he curled a finger under her chin, tilting her gaze up to his. Kissing her sweetly, she shook her head as he moved his lips down her neck and into the valley of her breasts, his tongue lapping at the milk and she watched on, unable to move as he kissed across to her chest.
"No…John…" she said to him and he dipped a hand between her legs once more.
"You're saying no, but your body is definitely saying yes…do you feel how wet you are…I can smell it."
"It's wrong," she commented to him and he chuckled at that, his finger continuing to languish in between her legs as she tilted her head back, openly moaning at him toying with her. "It's so wrong…"
"Then why does it feel so right?" he wondered from her, his speed increasing and she gasped for breath as he kissed down her neck once more to her collarbone. "Just give into it, Vicky…you know you want to…"
"We shouldn't."
"Tell me to stop and I will," he promised her, kissing the swell of her breast as her hips thrust back against him. "Just give me the word and I'll walk away now…leave you a panting mess."
But she didn't. She just groaned out incoherent sentences until she finally fell apart around him and he smiled against her skin as he saw her begin to leak once more, her breast completely full. He moaned against her skin, mouth wide open and hot breath making her shudder as she came down from her pleasure. And then before she could stop him, he had his hand on her breast, squeezing softly. "Such a good girl for me," he whispered and she barely registered what he was doing until it was too late.
…
Sitting on the jet, Victoria had her legs crossed and her arms folded over her lap. She was sat towards the back of the twenty-seater jet, slipping down the leather chair. Her seatbelt was already fastened as she sensed they should be arriving in New York soon enough. Her gaze darted down to the engagement ring on her finger, feeling the heavy weight of it all of a sudden. She moved her hands to twirl it around her finger as Homelander finished pouring himself a drink of scotch from the drink's cart at the front of the plane. Ever since that morning, she had barely said two words to him.
Groaning inwardly and rolling his eyes to the ceiling, he downed his drink and placed the glass back onto the cart. The air hostess batted her eyes at him as she took it away, but he didn't give her anything. There was no charming smile or wink like usual. He vaguely remembered her from a previous trip where he'd been forced to use the jet as opposed to flying. Had he slept with her? He had no idea.
Moving back towards Victoria, he sat down across from her, leaning forwards with his hands clasped together. "Do you want to talk about it?" he questioned from her.
She shrugged, looking out the window at the clouds beneath them. "There's not really anything to talk about. I said no."
"No, I seem to remember me telling you to say no and I'd leave you alone, but you didn't," he responded.
"Before then, I'd said no and you'd kept going," she sniped back at him, trying to keep her voice low. The last thing she needed was some Vought employee reporting back to Edgar or, even worse, the press. "I said that it was wrong."
"No, you said that we shouldn't…and you said the exact same thing last night while you were begging me to bend you over the bed and fuck you," he replied and she felt her cheeks turn red at his crude language. He sat back and continued scrutinising her with his blue eyes. "And I did. I made you forget everything that had happened this weekend. I made you happy for a brief few moments when I was with you, but you can't seem to give into that. You can't seem to accept that we can be happy when you let us…instead, I now have to deal with this self-loathing and self-pity. The mixed messages are becoming too much after this morning."
Victoria said nothing then because, as much as she despised his way with words, he did have a point. She was giving him mixed messages. One moment she was letting him pleasure her and the next she was scolding him. She felt as though everything around her was crumbling and she didn't know how to sort her life out. He was the only constant she had every single day.
"It can't happen again," she said to him.
"Can't happen or you won't allow it to happen?" he queried, perfectly plucked brow arching on his forehead. "Because I know you still love me. I know you still want me. And you know what? You're exhausting, Victoria. You're draining me and if I really wanted to then I could ask the air hostess in the back if she fancied a quickie right now. I could have any other girl I want, but I don't want them…I want the only girl who doesn't want me, but I'm not going to stop fighting for you. As soon as you realise there is no pointing fighting this…what we have…then I'll be waiting."
She watched him intently, teeth chewing down on her lip as he spoke to her, not once looking away. She felt her heart race in her chest and she grew warm under his gaze.
"You're the exception to every fucking rule I have," he grunted and moved to his feet and walked to the front of the plane.
Victoria watched as he sat down, the air hostess coming to him and asking him if he needed anything. He brushed her off with a wave of his hand. Victoria saw her look almost deflated at the rejection, glancing to him once more over her shoulder and then shooting a glare towards Victoria who ignored it.
She remained where she was for the rest of the flight as they descended back towards New York. She knew that she had a lot of thinking to do, but she had no idea who to confide in anymore.
…
"Hey, baby, did you miss me?"
Victoria had gone straight to Evelyn as soon as they were back, her chest aching with longing as soon as she saw her. Homelander was behind her too, longing to see his daughter just as much as Victoria was. He let her pick her up first, holding her to her chest and walking around the room as the baby gurgled softly in her arms, small fists against her chest. Victoria's nose pressed against her head, inhaling her familiar scent and closing her eyes firmly. She cooed over her as Homelander watched the scene, arms folded over his chest, eyes darting between his daughter and fiancée.
"Hey, you're back," the nurse who had been assigned to Evelyn strode into the room, clipboard in her hands that she set down on the sideboard.
"How has she been, Amy?" Victoria asked. Homelander didn't even know she had a name.
"She's been good as gold," Amy responded. "In fact, by the end of the week, we're hoping that she will be out of here and you can take her home…well…upstairs."
"Seriously?" Victoria asked and Homelander heard the genuine excitement in her voice.
"It's not too soon?" he questioned, needing to ensure that Evelyn was going to be safe.
"Not too soon," Amy promised them, hands on her hips as she watched the new parents together. "In fact, she's doing much better than expected. There have been some concerns about her strength as she grows…ironically, not that she's not strong enough but that she might be a bit too strong. It's not surprising considering she has your genes, sir," Amy said, addressing Homelander. "So she will need to be taught to keep them under control…more for the sake of Dr Anderton."
"My sake?" Victoria questioned.
"I understand," Homelander said with a nod of his head.
"You mean she might not be able to control it?" Victoria wondered and Amy began to flounder, not sure what she should say. Thankfully, Homelander was the one to take the lead. Nodding to Amy firmly, he kept his head lowered.
"Thank you," he said. "We can take this from here."
"Yes, sir," she said and left them alone in the room.
"John, I don't get it," Victoria said.
"I know," Homelander said, acutely aware that this would be a lot for her to take in. "You know how you told me that…sometimes…I can be too strong…my grip can be too tight?"
"Yeah."
"Well, growing up…it wasn't always easy for me to contain my strength and scale it back. It doesn't come naturally for me not to use it. Do you understand what I'm saying? As opposed to trying to be strong, it takes me to try not to be strong," he declared and sat down in the high-back chair, Victoria settling down on the chair next to him, Evelyn still in her arms. She rocked her slowly from side to side, the motion soothing her as she glanced between her and Homelander.
"I…I know that you were raised in a lab behind glass because people were scared of your strength," she said. He had told her most of his childhood, but there were things he preferred to keep buried from her too.
"And I had to teach myself how to control it," he confirmed. "But the fact is that…they didn't do a great job in teaching me that and…there were accidents, Vicky. There were accidents when they tried to teach me things."
Her brows knitted together, confusion etching its way across her face. "What do you mean?"
He sighed, hand going to his forehead and running along it. "They used to teach me nothing like you were taught. I never went to a mainstream school…had a chance to go to college. My days didn't consist of algebra or British history. I learned all the American things. I learned our history…our traditions…I learned how to be a clean-cut American hero and they sent teachers who taught me those things. They were the only people who came into a room with me…and they were always females."
Victoria watched him, pity in her eyes. She hated what they had done to him as a child. She hated how they had treated him and she had wondered if things could have been different if she had met him earlier. Would he have been different if he had actually been raised in a loving home?
"They taught me how family was so important which is so fucking ironic considering they never gave me that," he snorted. "And the teachers…I asked them who my family was. I was young. I didn't understand. I thought that they were my mothers…because they said they loved me and cared for me. I know now that they just said those things because they had a job to do, but I believed them. I believed that they did love me. I was stupid to believe that, of course, but I was a kid…and when you love someone…I went to hug them. I hugged them and I held on too tight. I held on far too tight and I crushed them to death. I didn't know I was doing it, not really. I never knew."
Victoria continued to watch him, seeing that he was tearing up. She saw him try to turn his head to the side and hide the fact he was wiping his eyes from her. She bowed her own head, trying not to cry for him, imagining how confused he must have been.
"I don't know how Ryan was raised by Becca…not to give into his powers. She must have had help, I'd guess…but Evelyn. She's my daughter and I know you might hate me, but I will never let her be raised the same way I was. I will never let her suffer like I did."
"I know," Victoria said and he looked to her, seeing that she was trying to hold back her tears too. "And I know that your childhood was…it was horrible, John. I know that and I know you won't let Evelyn have the same upbringing, but I'm not scared of her. I refuse to be scared of our own daughter."
"You won't need to be," Homelander promised her and she watched as he moved a gloved hand to Evelyn's forehead, brushing his fingers gently over the top of her head. "She's going to be absolutely perfect. She'll know how to use her powers."
"But we'll also teach her that she's more than that," Victoria said. "She needs an education. She needs to go to school…socialise with normal kids…we just need to make sure she has all of that."
"Those are things we can discuss in the future. We need to be aware of the security risks of sending her to a normal school. Yes, she will be able to look after herself, but look at those men who would have hurt her…she's the most famous baby in America, perhaps the world. I just think that we can try to give her a normal childhood, but we'll struggle to do that and make sure no one can hurt her."
Victoria knew that he had a point there. She remained silent, biting down on her bottom lip and figuring that was a battle for another day. For that moment in time, she was tired after an emotionally draining weekend and all she wanted to do was hold Evelyn to her. She let Homelander move an arm around her shoulders, his thigh brushing hers as they stayed with Evelyn for the rest of the day.
…
"Do you think that he's dead yet?"
"Who?"
"Dad."
"Don't know, couldn't give a shit," Billy responded.
It had been a week since Victoria had returned home from Chicago. She had been on social media and seen Daniella celebrating her thirtieth birthday that weekend. She was amazed she had wanted the party to go ahead, but she suspected that Georgina would have encouraged her. And so Victoria had called her brother and asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. Homelander was away for the entire day, doing some rally in Texas for some TV show. Victoria lost track of all his engagements.
And so she had laid Evelyn in her pram after Amy had promised her that she was fine to go for a walk. Billy had been shocked as soon as he had seen her, not expecting her with her daughter. Looking down to the baby in the crib, he saw that she was definitely Victoria's. She had her hair but she had his eyes. Billy was struggling to look past that.
"I just…after everything that happened with Michelle…I wondered if he was still here."
"Don't waste a thought on him, Vicky," Billy urged from his sister as they wandered through the park. Victoria knew that there was a Vought security detail tailing her. She also knew that they would report back to Homelander that she had left the Tower. But she was trying to go incognito. She was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt with her coat over it. Evelyn was wrapped up firmly in her pram, the shelter pulled over her.
No one looked twice at them as they took the quiet path. Billy was also aware that Vought officials were following them and that was annoying him, but he didn't say anything about it. He wanted to focus more on his sister being with him.
"I try not to," Victoria promised him. "I mean, ever since I had Evelyn I started thinking of our own childhood."
"I'm sure hers will be nothing like ours."
"I know it won't, but do you ever wonder how it got to be so bad?" Victoria asked and Billy stuffed his hands into his pockets, shrugging as he glanced around. "I just wonder what made dad so angry all of the time with us that he'd want to hurt his. I look at Evelyn and I can never imagine feeling that way."
"Dad's a cunt and that's all there is to it," Billy responded. "And you don't need to think about him. You have enough cunts to deal with."
"Do you think you can refrain from swearing in front of your niece?"
"She can't understand me," Billy said.
"You have no idea what babies pick up and I swear if her first word is see you next Tuesday then I will be holding you personally responsible," Victoria said and Billy's lips arched before he suggested they take a seat. He perched on the bench by the small boating lake and Victoria sat down next to him, one hand holding the handle of the pram and rocking it back and forth.
"Point still stands. How are you anyway? How is he?"
"I'm…not completely fine, but I'm getting there," Victoria settled on saying. "Michelle's funeral was hard and Daniella doesn't want anything to do with me. She thinks I'm keeping things from her and she despises Homelander after the whole Stormfront debacle. We…I think we're basically done…because there is no chance I can tell her the truth."
"She really said that?"
"Yeah," Victoria nodded. "I mean, I was so angry and upset with her when she did it at Michelle's funeral, but I kind of get it. I'm not myself around her. How can I be? She has every right not to want to see me."
"We'll find a way out of it. I promise."
"Yeah, I just don't know how," Victoria replied.
"And Homelander? Has he hurt you?"
Victoria's mind instantly flashed back to her laid on the bed in the hotel, Homelander kissing her sensually as his hips moved against hers and his hands tangled into her hair. She felt her cheeks warm up and shook her head quickly.
"He's fine…he's mellow…having Evelyn has kept him calm. Despite everything, he loves her. He dotes on her. He wants to be a good father," Victoria said and Billy cocked his head and watched her. She picked up on the scornful look and rolled her eyes. "Fine, he's still a see you next Tuesday…but he's not causing trouble. Maybe this is for the best."
"Don't you dare fucking say that."
"There's been no more super-terrorists…no more unsanctioned missions…he's staying quiet and so long as he stays quiet then he can't hurt anyone."
"That cunt-"
"-Language," Victoria interrupted, but he continued.
"-is a ticking time bomb. He's going to go off at any moment because that's who he is. You can't afford to think like that, Victoria. You can't afford to relax around him because he's not a good person. You know that he's exactly like Eddie, don't you? You know what he did to Becca…what he's done to other people…"
"I know," Victoria promised her brother. "I know what he's done and I know that he's dangerous…all I am saying is that right now, things are calm and maybe that's because of the new Bureau or because Edgar is in charge, I don't know. All I know is that being with him…it keeps him calm."
"It's not your job to keep him calm."
"No, but I'm the one with him," Victoria said.
"Are you convincing yourself that you're doing this for the greater good or are you trying to cover up the fact that you…that you still love him?"
"Can we not do this?" Victoria asked and she looked down to the ground, still rocking the pram slowly. "It's hard, Billy. All of this is just hard and the longer it goes on…the harder it gets. I just need you to lay off me. I need you just to give me some space…not judge me…and just…I have hardly anyone now, okay? I have just buried my best friend and my other best friend can't stand me. I have Annie and I have you…you two are all I have left and I just…I'm not asking for you to understand what I'm feeling or thinking. Fuck, even I don't know. All I'm asking is for you just to be here because you're my brother and I need you. I fucking need you."
Billy listened to her and he wanted to yell at her. He wanted to shake her until he got it into her head that Homelander deserved nothing from her. But he didn't. He gritted his teeth and just looked to her as she watched him, eyes wide and wet, almost begging for him not to abandon her.
"You shouldn't swear in front of the baby," he settled on saying to her and she rolled her eyes, lips picking up slightly as she realised that they were fine. She nudged him in the ribs and he chuckled before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
He felt her nestle closer against him, head on his shoulder as he kissed the top of her head. Holding her tightly, he nodded his head, cheek turning to sit in her hair. "I'm not leaving you…never again, Vicky. I promise."
…
"We had an agreement," Homelander snapped as soon as he found Victoria in the kitchen.
Evelyn was laid in her cot by the dining table as Victoria cooked dinner and prepared to freeze a batch of chilli. She was just finishing off loading the dishwasher when he walked in, footsteps heavy and making his presence known instead of sneaking up on her. She closed the dishwasher, not turning it on until she took the chilli out of the pan. She left it to simmer and gave Homelander her attention.
"What did you think Billy would do, John?" Victoria questioned from him. "He wasn't going to hurt her. He's her uncle."
"And I said that he would come nowhere near her," Homelander replied, throwing his gloves onto the worktop. "You didn't even discuss this with me. You just went off and did this on your own. I said that I would take her nowhere near Stormfront-"
"-Because she's a Nazi pscyho," Victoria snapped back.
"And what is your brother?"
"Just…a bit psychotic sometimes," Victoria decided on saying. "The difference is there. Why would you even want to have Evelyn near her anyway? Billy is her uncle. It's not as if I'm under any grand illusion of us being a big happy family, but I think that I should be able to take her for a walk with him if I want to. It's not as if he's going to be on babysitting duties, is it?"
"No fucking way."
"So just let me have this. He's my brother. He's not going to come here. You don't need to see him. I just want to see him when I can," Victoria said. "John, please. I don't want to argue over this. We just walked and talked. That was it. That's all we'll do."
Homelander continued observing her, gaze scrutinising her until he finally relented. "But you tell me when you go," he said to her, pointing in her direction. "And under no circumstances do you deviate from the plan."
"Alright," she said, agreeing to that. "Thank you."
"Just don't keep things from me, Vicky. I don't like it when you do that."
"You were gone early," Victoria defended herself. "Anyway, how was the rally?"
Homelander's lips arched as he moved over to the cot and reached down for Evelyn, picking her up and holding her in his arms, beaming down at her as he swayed her gently in his arms, cape flapping behind his body with the movements. "Mummy is so good at changing the topic, Evie. You'll soon realise that," he said and Victoria rolled her eyes as she went to sit at the breakfast bar, carrying a mug of tea with her that she was almost certain had gone cold. "But it was fine. It was some Vought TV show that they were promoting and Edgar wanted a big name there. Noir came along too in the end."
"And what else is on the agenda anyway?" Victoria queried, taking a sip of tea and almost balking at the cold taste down her throat.
Homelander perched on the stool next to hers, still holding Evelyn against his chest, patting her back softly as her hands tugged at the blue material of his suit.
"We have a film premiere on Friday night," he said. "And we also need to start discussing our wedding. It was put on hold because of this little one here, but it's expected we tie the knot soon enough."
Victoria was hardly surprised at that. She had been expecting it. She had managed to negotiate a smaller wedding than Vought had initially wanted. She'd also managed to get herself out of a honeymoon now that they had Evelyn. There was the fact that her two best friends wouldn't be there, but she didn't want to see them look at her in disappointment as she said 'I do'.
"When is the new date?"
"January sometime," Homelander said. "Ashley figured it gives you time to lose your baby weight."
Victoria's eyes widened at that. "Excuse me?" she snapped at him.
"I told her that it was pretty sexist and warned her never to bring it up to you. You're completely and utterly perfect as you are…you shouldn't have to be self-conscious about anything."
"I can't believe she said that."
"Don't worry, I soon put her in her place," he promised her in a gentler voice and she hoped that Ashley had actually been scared of him.
"I mean…I know things have gotten bigger but-"
"-It's completely natural and you're not being judged by some Vought lackey on it," Homelander told her. "And don't even criticise yourself. I don't want to hear it. You could walk down that aisle in a bin bag and I'd still marry you."
"I think Ashley might have a heart attack if I turned up in a bin bag."
"Almost tempting to do it, huh?" he said and he saw her smile into her mug as she took another sip of tea. "But anyway, January seems to be the favoured date. I've kept it small…City Hall…just a few witnesses…and photographs that the press can have a field day with."
"Okay, good," Victoria agreed with him on that. She could do it if things stayed small. She knew that it wouldn't be forever. There was no chance that it could be forever. "But we can talk about that another day, right? Because planning Evie's Christening is stressful enough now that she has no godparents."
"Why does she need godparents? It's not as if we're going anywhere."
"It's just the done thing," Victoria shrugged. "But I guess we don't need to do it. We can just do our own thing. It's not as if we're conventional."
Homelander chuckled. "We never have been," he agreed with her on that point and then he smelt it. "But I do believe we need to pause this conversation because this one here needs changing."
"Oh, give her to me-"
"-I can do it," he interrupted. "I've changed her before, Vicky. I know how to do it."
"Go ahead then," Victoria said. "And then she can maybe be put to bed? It's getting quite late. She's been fed and I've burped her. I was going to put some rice on to go with the chilli. Are you staying in tonight?"
"Yeah, I've got no plans."
"Do you want a bowl?" she asked him and he nodded his head, amazed that she was asking him.
"Sure," he said with a nod of his head.
He headed on upstairs to the guest room. He laid Evelyn down on the changing table and set about getting her out of her diaper. "Your mummy…she's quite something, Evie," Homelander spoke to his daughter, content that they were alone. "And you're the spitting image of her. You know, I've been thinking that we can maybe get out of here…live somewhere quiet…I can teach you how to ride a bike…push you on a swing…" she seemed to gurgle at that, her legs kicking in the air. "Yeah, you'd like that? I think that I would to. I also think that your mummy would as well. She never had an easy life…and that…giving her that…I think we could all be happy if she just let herself admit it."
…
The Vought Christmas Party was something that Victoria would prefer not to attend, but there was no other option. All employees were expected to be there and there was an expectation on partners to attend as well. She had dressed in a long-sleeved plum dress with a square neckline that left some of her cleavage on display. There was a long slit up the leg too. Homelander stood in the doorway as he watched her bend over her dressing table, fixing her diamond stud earrings in place.
"We need to go soon," he said to her and she looked at him in the mirror, nodding as she fixed the stud in her right ear.
"I'm ready," she promised him.
She stood up straight and he drank her in, noticing the way her left leg stuck out whenever she walked thanks to the high split. She'd even curled her hair, letting it bounce down her back in soft waves. His eyes skimmed over her chest before he looked her in the eye. He felt his mouth dry out, nodding his head.
"You look amazing," he said and she looked down, hands smoothing out over her stomach.
"I didn't know about this one…it's the first thing I've worn that isn't mumsy," she commented.
"Definitely not mumsy," Homelander said, longing to run his hand up her thigh and see how far the slit went. But he just offered her his arm. They headed on to the living room where Amy was looking after Evelyn for the night. She was the only one who Victoria really trusted, except for Annie, to stay with her. They said goodnight to their daughter and headed on down to the party that was already in full swing.
There were Christmas trees dotted around, covered with bright coloured baubles and twinkling lights. Christmas music was soft around the room and there were waiters carrying trays of drinks and canapes. Victoria took a glass of champagne when they arrived, glad she could finally drink. Homelander kept his hand on the small of her back as he greeted people, waving and smiling enthusiastically. Victoria forced herself to smile through the façade. This was the second Christmas party she had been too. It was as extravagant as she remembered.
"I'm just going to go and say hi to Annie and Hughie," Victoria said to Homelander as someone clambered to get him attention. He could hardly stop her as he was dragged in the other direction. She scurried off and found Annie and Hughie on the other side of the room.
Annie was dressed in her Starlight costume, Hughie in a smart navy suit. "Hey," Victoria said and Annie beamed as she spotted her, embracing her tightly. "You look lovely."
"And you look super hot," Annie said, pulling back and looking down at the dress. "That is a stunning dress…and where did they come from?" Annie questioned, motioning to her chest. Victoria laughed and shrugged.
"Have a kid, your body changes," she said to her.
"I don't think we're quite at that stage yet," Annie said and glanced to Hughie who shook his head. He was stood up straight, looking pretty uncomfortable in his surroundings. He wasn't used to being in the Lion's Den with no one trying to hunt him. But he had gone legitimate. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs and it seemed to be that he was idolised now.
"Definitely not," Hughie said with a shake of his head.
"Well, neither were we but turns out that Evelyn was the greatest accident that happened to me," Victoria confessed and Annie's lips arched into a genuine smile, glad that she was happy and unable not to share her love for Evelyn. She was far too sweet. "Anyway, how is the party going? We just got here and I'm hoping I can drink three glasses of champagne and get out of here."
"We were hoping the same," Annie responded with a nod of her head.
"There's a movie marathon of Back to the Future at the cinema near my apartment," Hughie said. "We're hoping to get there for the start of the second one."
"Well…if we're going to do that then I think I should go and do some more socialising to speed up the process. Vicky, can you look after him for me?" Annie wondered and Victoria nodded her head. "You're the best."
Hughie watched Annie walk off as Victoria looked to him. "You know, I think this is the first time I've been with you and not twisted your arm behind your back."
"I mean, you can do it if you want?" Hughie said and she laughed once, shaking her head.
"I think I'm good," she promised him. "Besides, you seem to be happy…and more importantly, you make her happy. She deserves that. She deserves someone who loves her. Just don't hurt her, okay? Because then I will definitely do more than twist your arm."
"Sprain it?"
"Kick you in the balls," Victoria said deadpan and Hughie chuckled.
"Consider me warned," he promised her and she smiled demurely, placing her empty glass of champagne on a passing tray, grabbing another one and thanking the waitress. "But you know that Annie loves you too, right? She worries about you constantly…just wants to keep you safe…especially since we found out about Flight 37 and what happened with Stormfront."
Victoria's brows knitted together and she took a sip of champagne. "What do you mean about Flight 37?" she asked from him and he looked to her, realising exactly what he had just said. Annie had never told her. Judging by the look on her face, she had no idea what was going on there.
"Nothing…just that she said you were worried about him and-"
"-I'm getting this close to twisting your arm, Hughie," she warned him, pinching her index finger and little finger together. "What do you mean about Flight 37?"
"He means that it's leverage."
Victoria turned her head to the side and saw Maeve stood there, dressed in her usual outfit with a glass of champagne in her hands. She hadn't touched it, but she needed to keep up appearances. Glaring to Hughie, Maeve looked at him disapprovingly.
"The twink over there has too big of a mouth," she said.
"Can someone just tell me what is going on?" Victoria demanded.
"Not here," Maeve replied. "Come on. We'll go to the bathroom."
Victoria followed her through the crowd, making sure they avoided Homelander who was still talking to some senior executive. He noticed Victoria following Maeve, knowing that he shouldn't let the two of them be alone. He made his excuses and followed them, catching them up as they came to the corridor down by the bathroom that was empty. Before they could go into the ladies, Homelander called for them.
"Victoria, there's some people you should meet."
"I just need to help her fix her makeup."
"She looks perfect," Homelander snapped back to Maeve.
"Well, she just needs a touch of blusher," Maeve decided. "John, it's no biggie."
"What happened on Flight 37?" Victoria asked, demanding to know straight out what was going on. She stood between them, looking back and forth at them and Homelander ground his teeth together, glare going straight to Maeve as she watched him back. He lifted his head then, chin jutting out.
"How does she know?"
"She doesn't know."
"Who mentioned it?"
"I did," Maeve said and Victoria didn't disagree with her. She was covering for Hughie. "Because you kept it from her and she deserves the truth. You're just feeding her lie after lie…forcing her to stay here with you…and she deserves to know just what type of man you are because I've seen her with you. I've seen how she follows you round…smiles at you…like she still loves you…and so she needs to be reminded of who you actually are."
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Homelander snapped at Maeve and Victoria saw his eyes turn red.
She moved then, standing in front of Maeve and he stopped. He couldn't do anything when she was there in the way. "Move, Victoria."
"No," Victoria snapped back. "You're not going to do anything to Maeve. And she didn't tell me anything about Flight 37 until I asked her about it…I knew that something was wrong when I brought it up and I asked her to tell me."
"You don't need to cover for her."
"Leave her alone," Victoria said and he cocked his head to the side. "And tell me what happened."
"Upstairs," Homelander demanded from her.
She nodded once and moved towards him. Offering him her hand, she waited for him to take it. His hand slipped into hers and he gripped her fingers tightly, dragging her out from the corridor and turning his head over his shoulder to glare at Maeve. This wasn't over. He knew that she was against him. He wasn't going to let her get away with it. But for now, he had Victoria to deal with.
...
A/N: And things never did run smooth...Season 3 is coming up soon but I really want to know if you guys are still interested in this! I know it's quite long now so not sure how many people are still reading anymore? But thanks to sansondonisha398, HomiesLazer and Guest for reviewing the last few chapters. If anyone else is reading and still interest, would be great to know, pretty please? Always love your thoughts!