Hello Everybody! *Flourishes V style cape majestically* Due to some very kind reviews I was inspired to add another snippet to the fluff series. And come on, who doesn't need at least a little fluff in the beginning of the summer to make it to next Nov 5th? This prompt came from a fellow librarian co-worker of mine who said I should write something about froyo. So voila! Fluffspiration was created. Please review if you like the series or want more of it. Also feel free to send me ideas for situations you would like to put these two in. In the meantime, I'll be working on draft 2 of my now complete novel! Excitement awaits. Have a wonderful day :)

It was another dark night and spring drizzle misted through the glow of the street lamps and clung to the thick wool of V's cloak. He swept over the rooftops with an accomplished set to his shoulders, imperceptible to the outward observer. In fact, he would whistle if he could risk it, such was the success of his infiltration of Sutler's mail system. Soon, every street in London would be flooded with his face – the mask of freedom.

The very idea lifted him as he flew across the shingles of his well known routes. He gained a giddy, reckless speed and–

Then he was falling –

The gutter squealed with indignation as it was wrenched from its bearings, catching eventually at the corner of two conjoined buildings. V grunted as his shoulder was nearly torn from his socket and stepped his gloved hands up to the lip of the roof. He was a fool, surely, to make such a reckless mistake. He had slid too aggressively in his glee, counting on the gutter's sturdiness to stop his weight.

Stray bolts tinkled to the cobblestone below as he took quick stock; there were only two floors of windows in the alley – all dark. Good. The drop was beyond his preferred height, but being caught dangling like a bat was a risk that greatly outweighed the concern to his superhuman knees. He was too close to the gallery… too close to Evey to draw the fingermen's attention to the area. As far as the insidious dolts knew, he was hiding out somewhere on the other side of the city, and he wanted to keep it that way. Bracing himself, he dropped and rolled, losing his hat in the process, but he rose relatively unharmed. He was sure his shoulder would bruise but he would recover. He made a mental note to hide it from Evey in their training sessions as he blended into the shadows of the wall. He waited a full minute before moving for his hat.

No curtains moved. He had gone unnoticed.

As V bent, his gaze caught on a peculiar steel machine sitting in a heap of assorted junk. A peeling graphic of a child licking a frozen dessert of sorts decorated the front and the words:

Yum Yum Froyo! splayed above it.

"How peculiar," V mused as he eased the small machine from the pile. It was lighter than he thought, and turning it he noted instructions on the side:

To make yum yum froyo:

Add yogurt honey and vanilla extract to the central compartment (A).

Add sugar and berries for extra desired sweetness to compartment (B).

Add ice and 1 cup of milk to top chamber (C) for best results.

Enjoy!

V did a mental run through his kitchen and found he could easily accommodate the instructions. Would Evey enjoy it? He had never tried this "frozen yogurt." He certainly hadn't noticed it on the menu in Sutler's prison camps. Visions of Evey's delight made their way through his mind and warmth flooded his chest despite the cold metal box he clutched. If it would – or potentially could – make her happy, it would be worth the sure wretched ache of his sore arm from carrying the box all the way back to the gallery.

Under loves heavy burden

Do I fly

"For my…love," V murmured the foreign word under his breath with a tender, rebellious grin. It still gave him a rush every time, foreign as the word was on his tongue. Checking the mouth of the alley one final time, V ghosted his way home, leaving no trace but the brush of fabric and a glimmer of steel.

Evey didn't want to be a creep. In fact, she actively tried to be as normal as possible given her rather weird and unpredictable life.

No, she wasn't encroaching, she reminded herself again. Still, her hand hesitated on the doorknob. V had given her permission to enter his room before, would this be much different? Just beecause he wasn't home…well…she didn't think he would be angry. He was a calm person. Right? But the man still needed his privacy…

Evey sighed and brushed away a barrage of pesky thoughts of V finding her there, and tried not to blush. She had fallen asleep soon after he left on his mission, and despite her better attempts, couldn't go back to dreaming without knowing if he had been successful. V refused deliberately to let her participate in his plans for the revolution, more so than she already had at least.

"I want you to have a life when I'm gone, Evey," he had told her one day over breakfast. "Your anonymity and survival are critical." Sh had suddenly found herself unable to finish her french toast, at least until V had taken her hand, and quelled in part her frustration.

"If it pleases you Evey, I can offer you a compromise. From now on, I'll inform you of my mission when I go out. That way you can participate in what I'm doing, albeit passively."

She had accepted, knowing it was the best she would get from him. Getting secrets from V only happened when he wanted it to happen. She knew subconsciously his mind was as tough as a bear trap, and nothing would escape unless he set it free – no amount of persuasion on her part would change that.

And so she had waited. She had paced her room in anticipation as the night grew later and later. Well past midnight, she began to wonder if V was right in that it would be easier for her to not know his plans. The worry was certainly driving her mad. And then the thought hit her; what if he was already back and simply didn't want to wake her? What if he had done what he was best at, and simply passed by her room, soundless as a shadow.

It was that thought that brought her to the heavy dark oak door of his room. Her gentle knock had received no response. After another moment of deliberation, she pushed open the food, and was more relieved than she probably should have been to see his large four poster bed immaculately made and empty.

A quick glance to the clock on his desk told her it was 3:00am. Still not back. Evey knew there was no way she would be able to rest in her own room, and so with a determined gesture, she set his alarm for 6:00 – the time V was normally waking anyway to make them breakfast. Surely if he wasn't back by then, something had gone horribly wrong. At that time, if he still wasn't back, Evey would slip on one of his cloaks and go in search of him. She slid between his silk sheets and closed her dreary eyes, letting the intoxicating pull of his scent guide her into better dreams…

Evey woke to V's gloved finger tapping the alarm clock button, effectively silencing it's insistent beep. With a tilt of his mask, and a small appreciative noise, he let her know he noticed she was watching him beneath her eyelashes.

"You're back," she noted sleepily, "I was worried."

"As was I when I noticed your bed was uncharacteristically…vacant," V returned lightly. Evey's breath caught as her brain awoke to its full awareness and she realized she had been nuzzling into his pillow. Not her pillow. She was in his bed.

A blush rushed over her cheeks as V sat gently atop the covers and brushed a tangled hair away from her cheek.

"It's alright," he assured her, "I'm sorry for worrying you. An unfortunate misstep with a gutter set me back. However," said V as he offered a hand to help her rise into a seated position, "I do have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Evey tilted her chin in curiosity, "Can this surprise be enjoyed from the comforts of bed?" She imagined his surprise entailed some sort of breakfast. Mustering some courage, she said "You could join me…here for awhile I mean… I would love to hear about your mission…" her confidence wavered slightly at the end. V was unreadable, and Evey could practically see the calculations going on in his mind. Had she gone too far? Not only commandeering his space but also refusing to leave it?

Then V surprised her. He patted her thigh and stood. "I would love to," he said generously, then strode out of the room.

"Oh," Evey remarked to the sudden empty space. For a moment she lingered in the awkward solitude. Was he coming back? Did he mean for her to follow? Her feelings were assuaged however with the returning clack of his boots on the stone. Evey burst into laughter as he rounded the corner.

"What's this?" she asked, as V offered her a bowl of decoratively swirled frozen yogurt.

"Yum, yum, froyo," V replied, mirth in his tone. "I must say, it's rather addicting. I'm a tad ashamed to admit it…but, I've had at least three bowls myself this morning so far."

Evey let out a noise of pleasure as the frozen dessert melted across her tongue.

"It's delicious!"

"Mmm, good," V clucked as he moved to sit aside her, removing his heavy boots in the process. "Now, in terms of my mission, it was a great success." He smiled beneath his mask, both his missions.

"That's fantastic," Evey said, but she found herself unable to muster a tone that was completely genuine. Of course, V noticed.

"Something wrong, Evey?" he inquired as she placed her empty bowl slowly on the bedside stand.

She sighed, staring to her lap, before drawing her gaze to meet his meshed eyes.

"I just can't stand the thought of you being gone. Of this place being empty without you…of me not being able to speak to you or…" she reached up to cup his face, "to touch you."

"I'll never really be gone, but I'm afraid it's necessary."

"But what if it wasn't? What if there was some way you could assure your own survival? You could disappear, and stay with me here."

"I can never promise you 100% I would survive any of this Evey. If I'm honest, a large part of me has wanted to die for a long time, and perhaps an even greater portion is already dead. At least – well – at least until you came into my existence." He placed his hand over her palm, keeping it there as if almost in disbelief of its realness.

"Then stay," her eyes pleaded. "There must be some way you can give yourself a chance."

V's chest rose and fell as he thought. Then finally, he brought her hand to the lips of his mask.

"If" he stressed, "...if it comes to a final confrontation, I will do everything in my power to possibly survive and make it back to you. You have my word, Evey, but I can't sacrifice my mission for our love, not matter how powerful it may become. I'm sorry," he let her hand fall. "The world needs me, they need this face. It needs the character I've become."

"The world plus one," she said, pointing to herself. "If the one isn't too much more to manage for a mastermind. But I also need V, just V. Not the character, the man behind the mask."

"I'm not sure you know him," V said automatically, before noticing the effect his words had. "Evey, no," he backpedaled, "What I mean by that is I'm not even sure I know who he is."

"Well," she wiped a budding tear from the corner of her eye. "I would like to discover him then."

"Me too," V replied, wrapping his arm across her shoulders and drawing her close. "Despite my fear of what might linger beneath my shattered memory."

"Let's start with the simple things then," Evey said after a moment of silence. "May I ask you a question?"

"Certainly."

"What colour are your eyes?"

"Brown," replied V.

"Lovely," said Evey, as she leaned her head against his broad shoulder.

"Mm, yes, I've found myself growing fonder of brown eyes as of late."

Evey chuckled, then yawned. V couldn't help but copy, and he was pleased with the thought that at least some part of him was as normal as everyone else.

"You must not have had any sleep, how are you still awake?" Evey asked.

"Sheer force of will, and sugar from the froyo." V said with far too much seriousness and precision not to be humorous. "In fact…" he began slowly, shifting himself forward, "I do believe I will take a nap!" With a swift movement, V's arm found itself under Evey's knees, and she was playfully tossed down onto her back on the bed in a fit of laughter. Before she could react she was rolled snugly atop his silk doublet, and the cord of the lamp was pulled, bathing the room in darkness.

Evey gave V's chest a coy slap as obnoxious fake snoring emanated from him.

"That's no way to handle a woman!" she berated. This time it was his turn to laugh. Over the past few weeks, they had both grown increasingly comfortable with physical contact from their sparring. Her hands roved up to his mask in the dark, and an idea sprang to mind.

"You won't be able to sleep with this on," she said matter of factly but with a certain tenderness.

V made an indistinguishable noise, somewhere between surprise and affirmation.

Slowly, so as to give him time to react in case he needed to, Evey reached around for the ties of the mask. She pulled and felt it loosen in her hands. In the moment she lifted to place it aside, V's breathing seemed more real than ever, and she felt the brush of it on her cheek. She loved him with his mask on – it was who he was – but she also loved the intimacy that came from being able to feel how alive he really was beneath it. That he wasn't just some character animated from commedia dell'arte.

"Your eyes look beautiful in this lighting," she said. A chuckle emitted from V's chest.

When V spoke it was so soft Evey thought perhaps he really was beginning to fall asleep. "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. I find myself agreeing with William," V mused. "I can see your eyes perfectly, and your brow, your cheeks–" his fingers touched her cheek, then slid to her jawline to draw her forward, "your lips…"

Then his mouth was on hers, in an embrace so passionate Evey was left dizzy when they eventually parted. She gripped his broad shoulders to steady herself. The darkness seemed to move around her, and by the way V's head shifted, she could tell he was experiencing the same thing.

When he had caught his breath, V turned her to her side, drawing her against his chest and wrapping his iron arms around her. She relaxed against him, against his steady heartbeat in the silence of the gallery.

"You taste as sweet as froyo…" he whispered into her ear and Evey swore she fell asleep with the grin on her face because her cheeks were surely sore in the morning.