Author's Notes: The final chapter for this particular story and I have more author notes below. Please enjoy and leave reviews, you all have been most wonderful. Thank you LizzAnn for being reviewer 100!

Chapter 11

Evey had to coax V into the light unmasked as one would a soft-pawed puppy from the gentle grass to the rough asphalt on its first walk. She tried her best to build his confidence, that he need not worry about his appearance since she loved him. The former BTN worker took all opportunities to touch him, caress his cheek, hold him, and kiss him to such a point that she realized she was probably smothering him. Oh, but the man would argue that he had never felt more loved than ever in his memory.

Things couldn't change over night, that was just unrealistic Evey knew, though she wished it were so. The lights remained dim in most areas, V clinging to the shadows when he could, only coming to the brightly lit kitchen when Evey beckoned him for a meal. Most times she would go to where he was, though her eyes felt strained at times. She wanted him to adjust to the new situation of being undisguised.

V felt utterly naked those first few days, feeling air brush his face when he walked, disturbing the air as he had not since before he met Evey and certainly not when another human was present. When he was in view of her he'd keep his head looking down to the side as if to minimize the amount of his disfigured face that she saw, but that didn't last for too long.

'He's doing it again, avoiding looking directly at me when I look at him. The poor man is being ridiculous!' Evey thought with mostly exasperation and amusement, and, as most of his blatant low self-esteem issues when it came to his body's appearance, a touch of sorrow.

They had been reading on the couch, Evey curled up into one corner and V sitting at the other side. She had felt a prickling in her periphery vision and knew the figure in black and gray was gazing at her, his attention no longer on the open book held across his lap. She looked up from her book to meet his gaze and he flinched his look away opposite her, not even bothering to pretend to have been reading.

The young woman sighed, there was only so much of this that she could deal with for only so long. She set her book down on the floor, she knew she had his utmost attention by the way his body stiffened into alertness as she stretched up and crawled across the couch to kneel next to him. She brushed his hands away from his book, closed it and also set it on the floor, he had turned his head down to watch this and now watched her as she reached out and held his head in her hands, resting her forehead against his, looking into his startled eyes.

"Stop it," the order left her mouth firmly, "there's no need to avoid my eyes, I'm sure you didn't when you were masked so I see no difference now that you are without mask. Especially now since I can see that you are actually looking at me or not. I don't think you were really that much of a shy man."

His eyes looked away after maintaining a few more seconds of the intense gaze, but she was sure it was from embarrassment now and though his damaged skin didn't show much of a blush, she could feel the slight increase of warmth in his cheeks.

"I apologize for my behaviour, I hope you can forgive me," he finally said, their faces now parted for a small distance, but he was looking into her eyes this time.

She smiled and replied, "Already forgiven."

She leaned in and kissed him on his brow then tugging on his arm she pulled him, indicating that he should come over and lay down along the couch. He hesitated at first, but Evey had rested herself against the arm of the couch she had been against earlier and was pulling at him again after she scooted back. He removed his boots and complied and was surprised to have her place his body between her legs and his head against her soft chest. He let his eyes close, his unbooted feet up on the couch. One of her wonderful light hands stroked his bare head and his cheek, the other stroking down along his vest covered chest and stomach. He tilted his head back as he turned it to the side to try and look up at her, and when he did her hand cupped his strong jaw and pulled him up slightly as she curled down to kiss him on his lips. She leaned back with a smile and continued stroking him.

"If that's my reward for looking at you you will find me gazing at you unabashed all day," came V's light voice.

Evey let out a delighted laugh.

With the unmasking of V it felt like he had to get used to being intimate with Evey all over again (though with mask he still hadn't crossed the barrier fully), but with Evey's coaxing and unfaltering love he again adapted to the situation as he had all his known life. The little slip of a woman had surely put him in for a twist as he had not anticipated when he first met her. But he did not believe in coincidences, as he had stated before, and time and again things turned as the Fates saw it fit and he couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Still, he couldn't help but feel like a school boy and his first love, it was all he could do to return to his ways before their confessed love, to not falter in his speech, to not let his knees buckle when she came up with that enchanting wide smile of hers that lit up her whole face reserved for him.

V came precariously close to true happiness as he had ever been in all these years. Not too hard to believe since previous to the invited intrusion of his little effervescent Evey he had spent his years painstakingly plotting and excitedly executing his vendetta. But still, he could not leave his heart truly unguarded, even though he truly wished to. Too much had happened to him that left thick scarring not only on him physically, but within him as well. He could trust humanity only so much, hoping that they would take the opportunity to take back their country from the likes of Creedy and Sutler was one thing, but to entrust his very heart to another was quite yet another.

Evey came up to him from the washroom ready for bed, wearing an oversized shirt that found itself slipping over one of her shoulders. The man in V found himself appreciating how her slender neck and pale shoulder peaked out and briefly wondered if she were to wear something less… concealing. The thought was quickly banished from his mind as swiftly as it formulated. He stood up from the couch as she approached and gently took her into his arms for a goodnight kiss. Yet another thing he had to adapt to, although he enjoyed it immensely.

It had all started with her coming up to him to give him a peck on the cheek before she went to sleep that first night he had gone without his mask. As he had all her previous kisses he had accepted it with disbelieving wonder. The second night he timidly returned the kiss to her cheek. Then one day, casually, their lips met and that is how they end every evening, it becoming a routine that was not at all something another would associate with the doldrums that "routine" would imply.

But now, instead of his love turning away from his arms with a "Goodnight" and walking off into her room, she instead pressed her body into his, her arms still around his slim waist, and her head resting against his chest. He held her for lack of knowing what else to do. It was pleasant, but he wondered why did she not go off to bed? Still, he did relish the feeling of her in his arms and of her holding tightly to him, her warm frame pressed into him as he indulged in the sensation and brought his head down to rest his cheek against the growing soft hair on her head.

Evey could hear his steady heart beat where her ear was pressed against his sturdy chest. She was quite willing to seduce him at a moment's notice, but feared that he was not ready for that, she hid a grin at that thought. No, she wasn't the most innocent of individuals, but he wasn't either, although more in another sense as he was no new hand in killing, but seemingly quite new to this soft loving. Would this modern Renaissance man be shocked with some of her thoughts concerning him? Such as what they could do on the couch if they didn't make it into her bedroom? Or the floor?

V looked down at his love, feeling the oddly mischievous vibe that she seemed to be emitting. She had reddened cheeks and a struggling devilish smile, 'Oh dear, what is she thinking about?'

Though inexperienced in these matters, he is a man foremost and began speculating as to the contents of the woman's head, and with the glow of her face, the tweak of her lips, he had a fairly interesting supposition as to her thoughts and with a mental gulp and a shrug decided to act on them.

Evey felt herself being gently pushed away, at first she wondered if perhaps V had become discomfited by their prolonged contact and change to their general routine, but then she saw, and then she didn't as she closed her own eyes and reveled in the soft kiss V gave her as he gathered her in his arms more securely against his body. She tightened her arms around him and began stroking down his firm back quite enjoying his initiative. She breathed in through her nose when his mouth slightly opened against hers and wet met her lips. She allowed him entrance with a thrill and heard and felt him quietly grunt. Were it not in that moment she would have gleefully exclaimed, "You are a man!" with much laughter, but could you blame her if she was a little preoccupied?

Ungloved hands ventured across the delicate dips and curves of Evey's back, one going up to support her fine neck his height and being the aggressor of this had her tilting back her head, and his other hand went down to lightly, lovingly grip her hip as he had not before in such a context. Her encouraging purr that came from low within her throat exciting him further, allowing him to dare put that hand to cup her bum. She did nothing to discourage his actions whilst in their heated embrace, her own hands stroking up along his sides, holding his head and stroking his jaw as she pressed herself to him.

They felt their hearts pounding against their ribs, breathing harshly through their noses and finally Evey had to pull her face away to breathe properly as she leaned her forehead into his and looked into his opened eyes. The look in his slate-blue eyes made her startle and quiver within as she had not before; there was undisguised fire bright passion in those eyes as such she had never encountered in her young life, though she was sure that she may have noticed it earlier in their acquaintance had he not hid behind a mask such was his passion for his vendetta. She knew her eyes reflected at least some of that fire as he had gifted her with.

"To the couch my fair Eve?" his normally smooth, cultured voice came out in a sensual, roughened rumble that made her tingle in a most intimate place. He placed kisses along her fine jaw, to the rapid pulse in her neck and heard her gasp out, "Yesss."

His thin lips curled up into a smile against her neck.

V stared contentedly up at the dimly lit ceiling of the living room; on top of him lay his sleeping love and both remained clothed lying on the couch, though not for lack of trying. His shirttails were out and rumpled, a couple buttons undone near his collar, but overall clothing remained intact. He rubbed his hand along Evey's back when she mumbled in her sleep. He almost broke at the look of desperation that had flashed across her face when he stopped them from going any further than the teenage like snogging they were already doing. However passionate they were he did not want to do something they may regret later, nothing was guaranteed in this life as he well knew and they would need to broach and discuss certain topics before allowing any further physical contact beyond what they had already done.

He ran a hand gently over the soft spike of hair on his little Evey's head wonderingly, loving the warm weight of her body on his and how her cheek and nose was pressed into his chest, her hands wrapped around him as his were around her.

She had become a bit upset, even knowing and accepting the situation and he couldn't blame her, you cannot stop someone from the way they feel. They had gentled and settled their passions calming down to languid kisses and strokes of his hand upon her head and body. She had sniffled briefly, such a pithy amount that he questioned if she had in fact sniffled, and laid her head upon his chest, drawing circles and other patterns in front of her face onto him with her fingers with a sigh. He bent his head and kissed her forehead before leaning back into the couch, quite sure he'd gain a crick in the neck and perhaps his back but knowing it would be more than worth it for what he gained that night.

As he glanced down at her sleeping form he allowed his happiness to remain, laying to rest for the moment all their possibilities and shared future, and whispered into the silence of the Shadow Gallery, "I love you my Evey."

The Beginning

Author's Notes: Chapter 10 received the most reviews for any one chapter for any of my stories ever 32. Also this story in general has had the most added to favorites and alerts than any story I have posted as well. Thank you all for your support and taking interest in this little story!

The sonnet I titled this story after, the few of you who replied to my question were all correct (theshadowcat, Aisalynn, and vampiricfaerie, I can't guarantee anything, so don't get your hopes up, but if you would like you may request fanart, or whatever drawings. They'd be more like sketches and that's all I can really offer as a poor college student lol! You may see some samples of how I draw/paint at the Elfwood sites listed in my bio. Don't know if that's suitable since I don't know if all of you are arty yourselves or not, which is why it's a choice…). Sonnet XLVIII (48) by Shakespeare.

http/ careful was I when I took my way,
Each trifle under truest bars to thrust,
That to my use it might unused stay
From hands of falsehood, in sure wards of trust!
But thou, to whom my jewels trifles are,
Most worthy comfort, now my greatest grief,
Thou best of dearest, and mine only care,
Art left the prey of every vulgar thief.
Thee have I not lock'd up in any chest,
Save where thou art not, though I feel thou art,
Within the gentle closure of my breast,
From whence at pleasure thou mayst come and part;
And even thence thou wilt be stol'n I fear,
For truth proves thievish for a prize so dear.

And why did I choose this sonnet to name the story after? I very much liked how one reader penned it:

"Oh, and William Shakespeare's Sonnet 48, which really makes sense. V has all of that art, all those treasures hidden away underground, but what he fears most is that Evey will be stolen from him. Love it. :)" from Aisalynn.

And I think this explains it quite well, but I did not dig up this sonnet from in my mind. I set out to title it as such in substitution for my lack of classic literature quotes to pull from for V to say. Since I could not do as many excellent fanfic writers for VfV were able to do I left it with the title and hoped that I would be able to keep V's character even without the use of the many excellent quotes he would probably use. I love reading, but I rarely, if at all, can pull out a quote from a book I read.

I forgot if I warned you all or not, but I have never finished a multi-chaptered fanfic before, until now. You all are lucky, since I have neglected, but not forgotten, other fandoms I have written in. It's so very hard to finish what I start since I have so many ideas and go off in tangents or start new stories and then don't know what to do with them since it all seemed to have gone out of control, it must be some sort of writer's anxiety… So feel lucky I finished this for me and you. I think I was able to do it, however poorly it may have finished, because I did not imagine it to be gigantic as I have envisioned my other fanfics. From the very beginning I was set out to do 11 chapters (know why?) and for it to be a fairly short fling. And all your encouraging ego stroking really helped :-P, thank you all. As for a sequel, I left it quite open for one, as I said previously, I have so many ideas…

Thank you to: graciousplum, theshadowcat, princess moon shadow, Young Chica (stay away from that evil brew! ;-P), Lady-Willowish, Blackwing-Rose, Mauve Mist, peachi padwan, storm, SupportSeverusSnape, Lady Light, LizzAnn, anaticulapraecantrix, squishmich, Sunday's Child, Salt06, Aisalynn (I decided to use Hugo's features since he was under the mask of V for the movie), PadawanCassy, Timberlou22, EmilyTheStrange13, vampiricfaerie, Kuruma-forever, Caiyah, Jjah-Jjah (Gabor?), pinkarella7, ladyofthedragons1, abrildelsol, Alexa Minasian, Queen of the Unknown, PyroSlytherin, Angel715, and BlondeSquirrel. Thank you to all who may review after I post this chapter up as well, I enjoy reading every one of your reviews!

I've babbled on for long enough.