There Would Be Roses

Summary: Three episodes throughout the year in the rose room.

A/N: So, I've been reading the comic, and it's amazing how many little stories have been popping up as I read. Most of them I have been able to put aside, but this one just needed to get out! So, if you've read the comic and have seen the movie, you will see how shamelessly I combine and mix the two. And if you've just seen the movie, hopefully it will still make sense.

Part one takes place a couple of days before the Old Bailey is demolished.

Part two is after Evey's prison time and the dialogue is almost word for word from the comic.

Part three is November the 4th.

I know I'm using a lot of the original, but I don't own it, I promise. Just using it for amusement, and hoping no one will sue me for my fun.

Part One

V lowered the bag of fertilizer with a loud thump, dirt scattering on the floor. He stretched, his hands pressing into the small of his back, feeling the beginning ache that accompanies a hard day in the rose room. 'I should take it easy for a couple of hours', he thought, working out the tight muscles in his back with his ungloved hands, 'I still have business to attend to this evening.' A grim smile spread onto his face, and he bent over again, opening the fresh bag of animal dung. Carefully, he began to scoop it out and place it around the long stems of his precious treasures.

He was glad, for once, that his calculations had been wrong, and had over estimated the amount of fertilizer needed to fill the base of the Old Bailey. He only used the best for his explosives, and his garden always appreciated the high quality. Not that he wouldn't get the best for his roses either, it was just going to be a couple of weeks before he would have been able to go out to get it. He had a busy couple of months planned ahead.

Tenderly, he made sure every inch was covered with the rich soil. He allowed the dirt to rub between his bare fingers, enjoying how it felt to rub the coarseness against his skin. It felt so alive. It was a part of the earth that gave life to his beautiful roses. How ironic it was one of his ingredients to make the bombs that could destroy so effectively. How…coincidental.

He allowed his mind to wander to the shrine in the next room, where pictures of Valerie smiled down at the world. She had hoped that someday there would be roses again. And V had done that for her, keeping roses in this world when everyone else thought they were extinct. Hopefully, someday, he could share them.

V wiped his hands on his black overalls and began to water the roses, leaning over them so he could appreciate the rich scent. If he had the choice, he would stay with his roses all day and care for them. But, unfortunately, there was work to be done before the upcoming November the 5th. When everything would finally be set in motion.

V picked up some shears and gently cut the stem of one of the blooms, lifting it away from the rest. He held it expertly, none of the thorns cutting into his skin. Yes, he had business to attend to tonight. Nobody too important, not like the leaders he will be targeting in the coming months, but still a part of what had happened. He smiled grimly, rubbing the velvety petals between his fingers. He would share at least one of his roses with the world tonight. It will be one of the last things a man will see before departing it.

V tucked the rose away in one of the many pockets and cleaned up the mess he had made on the floor. After making sure everything was in it's proper place, V stood at the doorway, casting one last glance over his garden. It really was too bad no one would ever be able to see and appreciate his roses.

'Well,' V thought, smiling wryly at his treasures, 'no one who would live to tell the tale.' With a flick of his fingers V turned off the lights, and walked back to the Shadow Gallery, wanting a shower before heading up to the world above.