Disclaimer: Though I would give my spleen to own V, sadly, I don't. Please don't tattle on me to the court.
There was a knock at the office door.
"Yes?" Evey's voice sounded a bit distracted.
A short, plump woman opened the door. Her sandy hair was pulled back neatly into a bun and her mouth was quirked into a tight, toothless smile ready to burst at any moment into a wide grin.
"There is a man here to see you Ms Hammond," she squeaked, her blue round eyes twinkling with excitement.
Evey grinned at the flustered woman. "Very good, Charlotte. Send him in."
Charlotte turned her head to look back out the door, her eyes following a tall man as he crossed the threshold. Besides his height, the first thing she noticed about him was that everything about him was black, except for his skin. Upon looking closer, his handsome face under the shadow of the fedora was creamy, smooth, and unblemished. He took off his hat to reveal a thick mane of slightly wavy raven hair that strongly contrasted his deep-set, brilliant blue eyes. Beneath the tight knit layer of his sweater she could see that his chest and arms were thick and brawny, worthy of any high class body builder. A black long coat was draped over his arm along with a matching silk scarf held in a black-clad hand. He stood with his feet slightly apart, his legs rising into two powerful columns. Overall, he had the appearance and stature of a Greek god.
Evey managed to stifle a giggle as she saw Charlotte eyes rake the stranger over then fan herself as she shut the door.
"Ms Hammond?" His voice was deep and silky, with a hint of Scottish origin.
Evey stood up and rounded the desk. She held out her hand to him. "Yes, and how may I help you mister….?"
He didn't say anything at first, but kept his deep blue eyes locked with hers. Delicately, he took her hand in his black gloved one and raised her knuckles to his lips. Her breath caught. There was only one other person she knew did that. She remembered when he would take her hand in greeting or farewell and raise it to his porcelain lips. She wondered if he ever knew that even though he could not caress her fingers with real fleshy lips, the fact that he was making such a gesture still sent little tendrils of heat dancing all the way from her fingertips to her toes. And now he was…no, no thoughts of him right now. It was time to be cool and composed.
"Vincent Verbeck."
Vincent Verbeck. V, V. Probably just a coincidence.
There's no such thing as coincidence. A voice echoed in her mind that sounded remarkably like V's.
"Mr. Verbeck?"
He smiled. "I have a particular infatuation with the liberal arts, but I feel that I am lacking in the proper analysis of some of the great works. I have been told that you are a much esteemed professor of literature, and I wish to enroll in your class."
Evey's lips quirked into a smile and blushed at the compliment.
"Well," she began to pull out drawers and shuffle papers. "If you're going to enroll, you'll need to fill out some forms…" She kept shuffling for a few more moments, then stopped and glanced up. "Shoot, I don't have anymore in my desk. Would you mind waiting here for a moment? I just need to grab some from Charlotte."
Vincent nodded. "That will be fine."
Evey shut the drawers and quickly exited the room, unaware of Vincent's eyes following her all the way.
vVvVv
V sat in Evey's office, idly wondering if Evey had picked up on his not-so-subtle hint at all. Probably. She reacted casually, but he could have sworn he saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes at his introduction. But still, it was too soon to reveal himself to her. He should approach it gradually with dropped clues to nudge her in the right direction. God only knew what her reaction would be if the truth just came and smacked her full force in the face.
"O-kay." V watched Evey saunter back in with a thin stack of papers, sifting through them as she went.
She couldn't look any lovelier, nor professional, V thought. Evey had grown her hair back out, and it was pulled back in a loose bun with a few wisps of curls dangling about her ears. She had a modest amount of eye make up on and a red wine colored lipstick. A black skirt cascaded down her thighs to her knees and complemented a matching jacket and set of heals. Underneath the jacket was a thin cream blouse with the top two buttons open, leaving a good portion of her neck revealed. But what truly caught V's attention was the necklace that was nestled just beneath the hollow of her throat. A simple tear-drop diamond set in silver, the same necklace he gave to her as a gift to match one of her favorite outfits during her stay in the gallery.
"I have a surprise for you, my dear."
"Really? A present? What is it V?" Evey's eyes twinkled with excitement.
"Close your eyes and hold out your hands." The grin was audible in his voice, but he still felt nervous, unsure about what she would think about the gift.
Evey immediately squinched her eyes shut and thrust out her open palms. She felt a small velvet box press into her hands. Immediately she opened her eyes and lifted the lid.
"Oh, V," she gushed. "It's absolutely beautiful!"
Relief washed over him as she lifted the single diamond from the box.
"Will you help me put it on?" She handed him the necklace and turned her back to him, pulling her hair to the side.
V slid the chain around her neck and clasped it, his fingertips brushing the nape of her neck, lingering for a bit longer than was strictly necessary.
She turned back around to face him.
"I love it," she said, smiling as she fingered the stone beneath her throat. "Thank you, V."
Then she did something V didn't expect: she reached out and squeezed him tightly to herself. He was too stunned to react; his arms remained loose at his sides. The only physical contact he ever remembered was either to bring him pain or inflict death. This was something far sweeter and purer.
Tentatively, he brought his arms up and enfolded her in his embrace. Evey smiled as she heard him sigh softly. They both held onto each other for a few moments more, then Evey was the first one to pull back. V was reluctant to release her, but managed to unhook his arms and look down upon her.
"I—" his voice faltered and he cleared his throat. "I am very pleased that you like it."
V smiled absently at the memory of that simple intimate gesture. To Evey, it may have been a casual gesture between close friends, but to him it meant the entire world.
"These are the enrollment papers." Evey's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Basically just personal background stuff. You'll need to—"
She was interrupted by another knock on the door.
"Excuse me for a moment. Yes?"
Charlotte came in cradling a package under her arm. "This just arrived for you from someone named Inspector Finch. He said it was important that you receive it."
Charlotte set the parcel down in front of Evey and left the room.
Finch? V only saw her occasionally visit with Finch, usually regarding either which artifacts from the old gallery should be reintroduced back into the world at the right time or for some extra government policy advice. She hadn't seen him much at all after the fifth. He had been buried under rallying the nation back together and eliminating the rest of the fragments of Norsefire. Well, of course V had been working to stamp out the rest of the old government faction as well, but he had done a clever job of covering up his trail. No one could possibly know that he was still alive…yet.
Evey stared curiously at the small brown package then reached for a pair of scissors. She snipped the tape and ripped the brown paper apart. Inside there was packing peanuts, tissue, more tissue, and…wait a minute….
She paused and stared in disbelief and horror at the box's contents. There, amidst the nest of packaging paper was a chunk of the mask that rode on the train with V to parliament. Most of the porcelain had been obliterated, revealing the strong steal surface beneath. The surface was mostly smooth, but it still carried a few nicks from the bullets that had pummeled the mask.
Although she knew that V had died in before the explosion, she always carried the tiniest shred of hope. It had worn down in the past few months, but it was still there, no matter how small. But now, seeing this, it was just so…complete. It stamped out that last glimmer of faith that she had clung to so desperately.
V watched helplessly as Evey tentatively lifted the remains from the paper and cradle it reverently in her hands. A slip of paper was underneath it.
Dear Evey,
I thought that you would want to have this. The cabinet thought it best to put in a memorial, but I believe you are the most appropriate recipient for his item. I am truly sorry if by receiving this you are upset, but I know that you will treasure it well. He was a great man who did more for this country than anyone could ever have done, and I am doing my best to ensure his legacy. He will never be forgotten.
Sincerely,
Eric Finch
PS. This is all that remains of the mask. We found it a mile down on Victoria Street.
Evey was struggling to fight back tears and was slowly losing the battle. A sea of memories both cherished and yet painful flooded her mind as she stared at the fragment of V's mask.
She now seemed to notice that Vincent was still in the room and spared a quick glace at him.
"I'm sorry will you excuse me for a moment? I'll be right back." Her voice none too steady.
She didn't wait for a reply, but spun on one heel, mask held tightly to her chest, and quickly walked to a side door leading to the office bathroom.
He felt his heart ripping in half as his hyper acute senses picked up the barely audible sobs coming from behind the closed door. He could make the pain all go away. All he had to do was go in there, crush her into his arms, and swear that he was a thousand times sorry for all that he put her through. Very tempting, and he actually found himself inching toward the door. But he caught himself and stopped.
No, I must gradually broach on that knowledge. Let her decipher some of the mystery.
The sobs continued for a few minutes until they slowly died away. There was some shuffling followed by a nose blowing, and then a facet turned on and then off. V never took his eyes from the door.
Evey reentered the room with an expressionless face, but her glassy puffy eyes revealed her inner turmoil. She had dabbed up most of her smeared mascara, but the bitter tears had stained her reddened cheeks. The piece of the mask was no longer present in her hand.
She must not want to break down again, he thought painfully.
Evey kept her eyes mostly on the floor, embarrassed at her sudden lack of control. She did manage to look up as she eventually reached her desk. His expression was sympathetic and, something else…Empathy? Understanding?
"I'm sorry, I'm not usually so overly emotional." She gave him a wobbly smile.
"There is nothing to apologize for."
Evey began to hastily put the tissue paper back into the box, aware that Vincent's eyes were burning a hole in her back the entire time.
"Was he special to you?" His soft voice cut through the silence.
Evey froze. There was a beat of silence.
"Yes," Evey's voice was barely above a whisper. "He saved me on numerous occasions, protected me, sheltered me, cared for me. And he was everything I ever wanted and so much more. I hadn't even realized it until the day he died. I never got to tell him." She bit her lip, struggling to blink back another wave of tears that threatened to spill over at any second.
Oh, Evey. V was having trouble fighting back his tears of his own. I must remain only empathetic, not overly emotional.
"He must have loved you very much."
Evey gave a humorless snort of laughter. "I like to think so. Maybe in more of a friendly way. Probably not in the way I loved him." She went back to shoveling packing peanuts back into the box. "But that doesn't matter now. I've lost him, and I'll never get him back."
Behind her, V was so overwhelmed with emotion he was feeling nauseous.
How could she truly believe that he did not love her? She was life, love, and hope.
It was true, his vendetta was inevitable, but she meant far more to him. His destined path was to complete his vendetta and then perish. But Evey, Evey had changed his fate. He came back for her.
"Now," Evey handed him the stack of papers. "These enrollment papers are pretty straight forward. You can for review tomorrow. Class starts on Monday at nine o'clock sharp. We will be discussing Dante Alighieri and The Divine Comedy."
V took the papers and gathered up his hat and coat. He turned back to Evey, who was staring at a spot on the floor, lost in thought.
"You mustn't give up hope, my dear," he said. "Your lover may still be out there, waiting for you. Who knows, he may have survived his fate."
Evey was speechless. What did he mean 'still out there' and 'survived his fate?' She said that he died, and never revealed anything about how or what happened. And here he is, telling her that she shouldn't give up hope, almost as if he knew the whole story of her past.
Before she could question that though, Vincent reached for her hand and kissed it again in farewell.
"I look forward to your most accredited lessons. Until Monday at nine o'clock, I bid you adieu Ms Hammond." He smiled and turned and left.
Curious. He reminded her so much of V. His name, his stature, his manners, his thirst for literature and knowledge, even his clothing seemed like something V would wear if he was a 'normal' public citizen.
She smiled at that last thought. But why did it seem like he knew more than he was telling her?
She blew out a sigh and returned to her desk. Well, she'd have a whole semester to get to know him. This might be interesting to find out more about him.
vVvVv
V shut the door behind in a sighed. He put on his coat and hat and smiled and nodded goodbye to Charlotte, who momentarily lost her grip on a stack of files she was carrying and jolted to save them from scattering on the floor.
The Divine Comedy. Perfect
Walking down the corridor, V rehearsed his plan to reveal himself to Evey. It had to be subtle, but obvious enough for her to figure it out. After all, she thought he was dead.
Soon, my love, V thought. Very soon.
Author's Notes: Thank you so much guys for bearing with me. I've had it pretty busy for the past few weeks, and the misery is continuing :(. I've been writing little bits and pieces here and there for the third chapter, but it probably won't be up too soon. But I promise V and Evey will be getting back together soon :).