A/N Once again sorry for the wait! But here you have it, the 12th chapter! Sadly there is most likely only one more chapter after this. I hate to see this end. How long have I been working on this? A year and 3 days to be exact! Well all things most end and sadly this story as well. I hope you all enjoy this and the next chapter(most likely the last one) will be up soon!

~Axelrocks~

Chapter 12

Today was a relaxing day. After cooking and eating her breakfast, Evey now sat in her comfy living room reading a book.

This is something V would do, she thought to herself but then instantly regretted it. She needed to stop thinking of him. It only hurt her more.

She tried to think of him less often. But she tried so hard that she even thought of him even more. She longed to see him and there had been a couple days where she had actually found herself walking in the direction of the Shadow Gallery.

Would he be happy to see her?

Her thoughts were thankfully interrupted when someone knocked on her door. With a sigh she placed her book on the coffee table in front of her and answered the door.

She was surprised to see Eric there.

"Good afternoon, Evey," he said with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Eric. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Um…" he seemed a little embarrassed. "I think I left one of my gloves here last night. It may have fallen out of one of my coat pockets."

"Hmm…let me check." She looked over to where Eric's coat had been hanging the night before and sure enough there was one lone glove lying on the ground.

She went over and picked it up. "Is this it?"

"Yes," he smiled and took it from her. "Thank you."

"No problem." She wished to get back to her book, but she really wanted some company. "Would you like to stay for some tea?"

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble, of course."

"No, please come in!"

And he happily did so.

~V~

V looked at himself in the mirror shocked. Was this really him? Placing a scar less hand on his face he made sure it was real. Was this how he looked before Larkhill?

He couldn't wait to show Evey! But would she be happy to see him?

~V~

They sat together in the living room sipping at their tea. Evey sat on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her and Eric sat on the only recliner in the room looking quite nervous.

"Eric, is there something bothering you?" She asked tilting her head in concern and placed her book to the side.

He jumped at the sound of her voice and looked at her with a forced smile. "Of course not, I'm fine Evey."

She didn't buy it for a second and he knew it. So he finally gave in.

"Okay, I have a confession to make," he sighed and leaned over to set his teacup down on the table.

"What is it?" She asked genuinely curious.

"Well, I did not come here to just see if you had my missing glove, I actually used that as an excuse, but I came to ask if you would like to have dinner with me tonight." He seemed nervous but continued to talk. "I know we shared a meal last night, but this my last free night before I begin work again. So what do you say?"

She smiled. "I'd love too!" She collected their cups. "Just let me get ready."

He sighed in relief and smiled. "Of course. Take your time."

~V~

V checked himself once more in the mirror. He wanted to make sure that it all wasn't a dream. He wanted to make sure this was really him and not some kind of sick joke his mind had decided to place on him.

He looked himself over once more and sighed. Tonight was the night he was going to visit Evey.

~V~

"I had a great time, Eric," said Evey as they walked back to her house. "I never imagined that we would become such good friends. Did you?"

They now stood in front of the stairs that led to Evey's front door.

"Well," he said. "I was hoping we could become more than friends, Evey."

"What?" What was he saying?

But before she could say anything else he had gently placed his hands on the sides of her face and leaned down and kissed her and for one moment she kissed him back and imagined it was V. But it all came down on her in a crashing reality. This wasn't V, this was Eric. Eric was her good friend and nothing more.

She broke off the kiss and he searched her face, reading her eyes.

He sighed. "I understand, Evey. I never should have done that. Will you forgive me?"

She smiled weakly. "Of course, Eric. And I'm sorry that I don't care for you in that way."

He smiled a little sadly. "That's alright. V's a lucky man." and he turned and walked away.

~V~

V walked the dimly lit street he knew Evey's parents house was on. He had a feeling that she was now living there and usually his feelings were never wrong.

Usually.

He was also surprised to see the streets deserted, well it was pretty late at night he supposed. Well no one would recognize him now. Not without his mask and cape, he couldn't help but smile at the thought. Finally he could leave his home and be left alone.

As he neared Evey's parents house he noticed two figures standing outside it. One was unmistakably Evey, his heart began to race at the sight of her and he couldn't help but smile, and the other he wasn't too sure off. He knew it was a man though.

As he got closer still he soon recognized who it was. Inspector Finch! And him and Evey weren't talking like he had originally thought. They were kissing!

His heart stopped. Had Evey moved on? He couldn't blame her, he knew she wouldn't wait forever for him But seeing that she really had moved on hurt. Maybe he just wasn't meant to be loved.

He watched as Eric said something to Evey with a smile and walked away and he too turned to leave… and ran right into a garbage can.

"Damn!" He silently cursed. He wanted to get away nice and quiet-like.

~V~

Evey sighed as she watched Eric walk away. She should have seen it coming. She should have seen the way he looked at her, and they way he had cared for her while V laid in his coma. She should have seen it and immediately out an end to it. This way she would have never had to hurt him.

He should have known how much she cared and loved for V. But at least he had not seemed that hurt as he walked away. Well he hadn't, as far as she could tell. But with Eric one never knew. He hid his emotions well. She just hoped that they would still remain friends.

Turning to walk up the stairs to her front door she stopped when she heard a crash. Gasping she quickly turned around. Had someone been sneaking up on her? Did someone want to do her harm? Instead of seeing a ruthless killer wanting to end her life she only saw an embarrassed man. He didn't look harmless at all, but she still kept her guard up.

She didn't speak at first and instead studied him. He wore all black. Black pants tuck into black boots that reached almost to his knee and a black silky dress shirt.

Looks like something V would wear, she mused to herself. Oh, how her heart ached for him!

She moved her gaze up to his face. His hair was golden and parted back, some strands were loose and fell almost to his eyes, and his eyes….she couldn't see what color they were in the dark. And she couldn't help but notice that he was quite handsome.

"I am quite sorry that I startled you," he finally spoke, his voice sounding very familiar. "It was not my intentions to run into this… garbage can."

She laughed and before she could say anything he continued.

"Now, I have found that I am in the wrong place. I bid you farewell…Evey." And he turned and walked quickly away.

She stood there in shock and by the time she regained her bearings he was nowhere in sight.

How had that man known her name?