Did Homelander not care what he had done? He opened up a big ass can of worms when he kissed Emery at the inauguration. Not only was he outing her, but he was outing himself too. For fuck's sake. Pictures of the incident were trending on social media, with high ratings, and the comments were insane; some fans were out for blood.
Why her? One commenter had posted. No one even knows her name. She's a nobody.
Hell, someone even posted an image of her in the turquoise dress she wore on their first date.
The comment under it read:
Could she be a victim Homelander saved? Love at first sight.
It was too much too soon.
Emery bounced her leg and sighed. What was she to do? She doubted that the pictures could be removed and as much as she hated depending on Madelyn, perhaps there was something she could do to keep the reporters off her back.
She shut down her computer and left her office, ignoring the curious stares as she marched towards the elevator. At least now Emery knew why so many people were cutting their eyes in her direction as she came into the room. Was it too much to hope that their kiss remain a secret? She wasn't sure why it even mattered.
Once the elevator reached its chosen destination, Emery rushed out of it like a bat out of hell and jogged to Madelyn's office, knocking on the door. As she waited, she tapped her foot, trying to come up with a decent argument as to why she and Homelander – or John – were not suited for one another.
Madelyn's stern voice brought Emery out of her thoughts, and she walked in with confidence.
"We need to talk," Emery declared.
Madelyn grinned and motioned for her to sit down, but Emery declined her offer. She had no intention to stay long.
"I don't know what is going on, but I have come to a decision," Emery mentioned.
"And that decision is?" Madelyn asked, raising her brow. "Better yet, what are you talking about?
Emery took an uneasy breath.
"Homelander. He and I cannot be in a relationship. Have you seen the media? They are swarming like sharks."
"It's the price to pay, Em, for kissing a Supe in front of a live crowd, especially when that Supe is the Homelander," Madelyn retorted.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Now sit down, so we can sort through whatever is going on with you."
Emery wanted to choke her. But she reckoned she was a bit frantic in her approach. She sat down in the chair in front of Madelyn and took a deep breath.
"Better?" Madelyn asked.
Emery shook her head. Once her sister motioned for her to continue, she did, but clearer.
"I can't like him."
"Why not? Because he is a Supe?" Madelyn asked with a bite. "Or because you are too scared to peruse any type of actual relationship?"
Hearing it come from her mouth made Emery feel bad. She was scared, yes, but having a relationship with a Supe was not a good start.
Madelyn sighed.
"You know, for years I've been trying to show people like you that Superheroes are human too. They were born like you, albeit special, and I imagine dating one sounds scary, because you never know what might happen, but like our brother James says, get over it."
Emery was taken back for a moment. Since when did she quote James? He was a dick. She cleared her throat.
"It's not that. I don't even know how I'd make a relationship work between us," Emery explained.
"With caution," Madelyn replied.
What did that even mean? Emery turned up her eyes and stood up, heading for the door. She wasted her time coming to Madelyn.
"Emery," the said woman called out. Her tone was much lighter.
When Emery turned around, she noticed the look of sympathy on her sister's face.
"Did you have fun with John on your first date? I never got to ask," Madelyn brought up.
"He flew me to a barbecue place," Emery mentioned with a soft smile. "I was scared to death, but I liked it."
Madelyn grinned.
"Then don't give up on John just yet. If the kiss was too much, then tell him."
Emery felt strange. This was the first piece of helpful advice that Madelyn had given her. She shook her head and reached for the doorknob, but upon remembering something she peeked back over at Madelyn.
"Have you spoken to James lately?"
"I consult with him sometimes," Madelyn admitted.
Emery didn't know how she felt about that; disappointed perhaps.
Clearing her throat, she left.
Later, once she returned to her apartment, Emery opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass, then sat down on her couch with her laptop. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and then sent a video chat notice to Homelander. She wasn't sure what time he went to bed, or whether he was home, but a green dot near his name indicated that he was logged on.
Once he appeared on the screen, she couldn't help but smile.
"Emery? What a surprise."
The said woman cleared her throat.
"I'm happy you answered. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Of course," Homelander said with a smile.
Emery took a deep breath. Where to start?
"I saw the pictures online."
"Too soon?" Homelander asked.
Emery nodded.
"Your fan base is vicious."
"It can be, but hey, they love me. And that kiss booted me two entire points," he explained.
Emery was taken back. Her stomach twisted in knots. Picking up her glass, she took a drink.
"So, you kissed me for the ratings."
Her teasing tone cracked a bit.
"I kissed you because I thought our relationship was going somewhere," Homelander answered.
His eyes widened and he laughed.
"Did you honestly think I kissed you because I wanted a 97-approval rate? I can get that on my own."
Emery was relieved.
"You didn't like it much, did you?" Homelander asked. "I mean, you barely reacted, other than to storm off stage."
"It wasn't that I didn't like it, because I did, but you took me by surprise," Emery answered.
She took another drink.
"I overreacted about it and all day I've been teetering back and forth on what it meant to me and honestly I still don't know. But I'm not mad at you, John."
"Do you want to continue this?" Homelander asked.
Oh God yes.
"Slowly," Emery replied with a nod.
She was going to take Madelyn's advice - for once - and give John a chance.
"The press is going to ask me about it since we've been seen together twice," Homelander brought up.
Emery hummed. She imagined so. But she'd just have to get over it.
"Can you tell them that it's open for debate?"
Homelander nodded. He was as Emery had imagined, a sweetheart.
"Thank you, John. I swear I'll make it up to you," she declared.
"I do not doubt that you will. But when?"
Emery thought about it for a moment. She was busy throughout the week with promotion; the Deep had another photo shoot for something and both Maeve and the Emerald Beetle were scheduled for meetings with her and Madelyn.
"I'm free this weekend. We can get together if you have time," she mentioned.
"For you, always," Homelander stated.
Emery grinned and blew him a kiss before wishing him a good night. When she ended the call, she downed the glass of wine and leaned back her head.
"I'm an idiot," she uttered with a laugh.
Madelyn would be proud of her. But would James? Emery took an uneasy breath.
No, I don't suppose he would.
She was a black sheep after all.