Victoria didn't really want to go back to the city. They had spent three entire days in that cabin, completely and utterly wrapped up in each other. They'd watched TV, slept and just ate. They'd talked about everything and nothing. Plus, there had been lots of sex. It had been the perfect three days and Homelander almost wondered if it was possible to keep Victoria there. She could stay in the cabin and everything would be fine because the outside world wouldn't exist. It would just be them. Whoever seemed to be out to ruin them wouldn't matter because no one would find them in the cabin.

But he knew that couldn't happen. He knew that Victoria would never agree, no matter how much she claimed never to want to leave the cabin. So, on the final day, he asked her if she wanted to stay at his penthouse until New Year. Michelle and Daniella weren't due back until the fourth of January, plus, she didn't need to go onto campus. She could just work at home. He had posed it as a treat to her. She would have the penthouse to herself during the day.

She could do what she wanted. She could work on her thesis. She could write the paper that her and her friends had been working on. She could just watch TV or read the book that she had been carrying around with her for weeks, having gotten nowhere with it because she was too busy. He would leave her ingredients to bake. The fridge was full of diet coke and white wine, not exactly a healthy diet, but Victoria reasoned that the holidays weren't for being healthy.

But the truth was, Homelander wanted Victoria where he could see her until he could find out who he was up against. And Victoria had agreed. She had gone to his penthouse after picking up more clothes from her apartment and her laptop. She'd unpacked in his walk in wardrobe and he hadn't complained when he went into the bathroom and found her toiletries laying around. If they were to make this work then he would get used to it. Besides, it would make more sense for her to be in his penthouse than to stay in that apartment of hers.

"Annika, isn't it?"

Homelander had gone down to Crime Analytics the day they'd gotten back to Vought Tower. Victoria was in the penthouse, laid in the bathtub and resting. He'd told her that he had business to attend to and she had kissed him goodbye before heading for the bathroom and he headed for the elevator down to CA.

"Ermm…yes, sir," she said.

The young woman was clearly anxious with what she was seeing. It was rare that any of the supes ever came down to CA. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time one of them had come in. Homelander tried to ignore how nervous she was. He just needed someone he could manipulate to do what he wanted and not tell anyone until he decided to tell them. He was going to handle this on his own. He knew that he could. He didn't a paper trail leading back to him.

"Hi, Annika," Homelander said, turning the charm on full. "Listen, I have something that I need doing and I was hoping that you could do it for me."

"Oh, yes, of course," she said quickly to him, eager to please.

"I need you to see if you could trace this number," Homelander said and he handed her his phone. She looked at the number. He had taken the attachment from it, not wanting her to see that. He didn't need anyone to see that. "It's for a job that we're working on. You don't need to bother filling in an official report on this one."

"Oh, I really should because it's policy-"

"-No," Homelander chuckled, rejecting her points. She wasn't going to leave any evidence of his encounter behind because he wasn't going to let her. "You don't want to be doing that, Annika. Just trust me on that one."

"But-"

"-Listen, Annika," he said, tone slightly more tense and indicating that he didn't have time for this. He didn't have time to listen to her babble on. He wasn't interested and he wasn't going to stand for it. "You know who I am, right?"

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Then you know to listen to me, right?" he said and she remained mute. His brows arched on his forehead. "Right?" he repeated and this time she did nod her head. She quickly looked away from him and began typing on her computer. The department was pretty empty, only two other people working. It was still the holiday season so he suspected Vought had given most of them time off. He watched the screen with interest, waiting for Annika to tell him what she had found.

His hands went behind his back and he rocked back and forth on his heels, blowing out air from his puffed-out cheeks in impatience.

"The number seems to be tracked back to a burner phone," Annika declared. "I can't trace it, unfortunately."

He had expected this, but he had only hoped that he was going to be dealing with an amateur. Turned out that wasn't going to happen. He sighed deeply and took his phone back from Annika. He left without another word to her and headed on over to the elevator. His next port of call was the building where Victoria had been kept.

He got there in record time, landing outside of it. It was still cordoned off, the roof crumbling in from where he had used his laser eyes to burn a hole in it. Looking round, he tried to find where the camera would have been from the angle the film had been taken. He looked up, his gaze honing in on the building next door. It was then when he spotted it. It wasn't a clear CCTV camera, but there was a small device on its roof. He flew up and snatched it down. He doubted he would be able to track where it had come from, but he knew that he had to get to the bottom of it.

He knew what he had to do in this instance. He smashed the camera on the floor, lasering it for good measure before taking off and heading back to the Tower. He went straight up to Madelyn's office. He knew that she would be working, despite the fact that it was the Christmas holidays. She was alone, no receptionist on duty. He knocked on the door just once and she called for him to come in.

"Homelander," she spoke. "I thought that you would still be away."

"We got back an hour ago, plus, I'm on media rounds tomorrow morning," he reminded her. "Besides, we've got an even bigger issue to worry about."

He dropped the phone onto her desk and she looked at it. She pressed play on the video as he took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. He folded one leg over the other. Madelyn finished watching the short video of Maeve and Homelander and then looked over to him, hands going to hold her chin.

"Where did this come from?"

"There was a camera on the building next to the one where Victoria was being kept," Homelander informed him, tone tense and tight. He was exhausted. He was so exhausted with being challenged and he just wanted to find out who was doing this to him. "Someone sent it to her while we were away. I destroyed her phone before she could see it, but sent it to myself. It came from a burner phone and I destroyed the camera."

"Whoever sent it will probably have a copy of it," Madelyn said.

"No shit," he snapped. "That's why we need to find out who set that camera up and what they want with me."

"You said it was sent to Victoria?" Madelyn checked.

"Yeah."

"Is there anyone who would want to keep her away from you?"

"She doesn't have anyone, you know that," Homelander replied. "Her roommates wouldn't be capable of this. They approve too much of us being in a couple. Her parents…they are back in England…but her brother…she said that she has a brother. She said that he came to her and tried to make amends."

"Has she said who her brother is?"

"No, she doesn't exactly talk about her family. She can't stand them," Homelander said with a wave of his hand. "But he's the only one I can think of who might send it to her. The message…read it…it sounds like someone warning her away from me. It doesn't sound like someone who just wants to bring me down."

"I agree," Madelyn said to him. "And I can find out who he is. I can see what I can do with the police in England to open her file."

"No," Homelander responded and moved to his feet because he knew that he had to deal with this. "I will talk to her. I will get his name. I will deal with him and I will deal with this."

"You think that you can do that?"

"Easily," Homelander said to Madelyn. "But, in the meantime, you need to be alert and aware that there is someone coming after us and we need to be prepared."

"And you need to be careful," Madelyn said. Homelander stood up, his cape flapping behind him. "If someone is looking for her…trying to break you two up, then just be careful with how you deal with it and you tell me what's going on. Get me the name and I can take it from there."

"We can take it from there," he declared. "I'm not being left on the sideline."

Madelyn nodded her head. She was aware that she wasn't going to leave him out. He wasn't going to let her and it was easier to work with him than against him. He left her office, throwing her a smarmy smile on his way out. "And happy holidays, Madelyn!" he called out and closed the door behind him.

Heading up the elevator back to his penthouse, he exited to find Victoria laid on the couch, book above her head as she held it there. She was dressed in a pair of pyjama shorts with fluffy socks, her floral silk pyjama shirt baggy on her top, three buttons undone on it. She lowered her book when she heard the elevator doors open.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be back so soon," she said to him and he smiled.

"The job took less time than I thought it would," he replied. "And so I am back for the night."

"Perfect," Victoria said and she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the couch and leaning back, giving him space to sit next to her. He collapsed back against the leather cushions and Victoria placed her book on the coffee table. "So you're all mine for the night?"

"Unless some crisis hits New York, you've got me," he promised her and she smiled at him, beaming widely and moving to her feet after patting his thigh. He watched her head through to the kitchen, shouting back as she went, her feet slipping on the floor slightly due to the material of the socks on the wooden surface.

"I had just made some chocolate chip cookies," she said. "I was thinking of making seafood linguine for dinner too, but if you fancy something else then just let me know."

"That sounds good to me," he said and followed her into the kitchen.

She pulled out the tray of cookies, her hands encompassed by oven mitts. She placed the hot tray on the wire rack that he didn't even know he had. He saw that the necklace she wore was still against her chest and he felt a possessive streak inside of him. She was his. She wasn't going anywhere and no one was taking her away from him.

"So, do we have any engagements on New Year's Eve or are we just staying in?" Victoria wondered from him and he shook his head at her.

"I got us out of going to the ball drop," he said. "Deep and A-Train are heading there instead. I spun it as wanting to spend our first New Year's alone together, you know, make it special."

"I bet they loved that," Victoria said, placing the oven mitts on the worktop and then folding her arms on the other side of the breakfast bar. He took a stool and moved a hand to pick one of hers up, his fingers lacing with hers.

"Couldn't give a shit, I'd rather just stay in," Homelander retorted. "And, I know that you don't want to talk about it and, honestly, that's fine with me…but I just wanted to check…your brother…" he trailed off when he noted her look away. He knew that this wasn't a subject she wanted to discuss. But they had to discuss it. He squeezed her hand, the motion enough to draw her attention back to him. "Hey, I know you'd rather talk about anything else, but if he's here, in the city, then I just want you to be safe. I could have Vought have a security team-"

"-No," Victoria quickly said, shaking her head. "No, I don't want that. I'm fine. I'm not scared of him."

"You're sure?" Homelander asked from her and she nodded.

She leaned over the bar and pecked him quickly on the lips, letting go of his hand and going to the fridge. She pulled it open and grabbed the seafood from it, ready to make a start on dinner. Homelander watched her and then continued talking, fingers lacing together in front of him on the surface of the worktop.

"Hey, you never said…what was his name?" Homelander asked and Victoria shrugged.

"I don't mention them because…well…you know I changed my surname…it's not who I am anymore."

"I know," Homelander promised her and he stood up, realising that this was going to be harder than he thought. She had placed the seafood down in the packets on the chopping board. She left it there and Homelander wrapped his arms around her waist, staying behind her with her back pressed to his chest. "And that name…just say it once so I know…just so I know and I can keep you safe if he ever does anything. Whatever your last name is, it will mean absolutely nothing to me. It will mean nothing because you will always be Victoria Anderton, my Victoria."

She sighed against him and he knew she was relenting. She collapsed back against his chest, her hands going to hold onto his on her stomach and she nodded. "He's called William. William Butcher."

Homelander nodded. Butcher. The name Butcher meant something to him, but he didn't know why. He couldn't put a finger on it. Then again, how many people did he come across in his job? It wasn't possible to remember every single name that was given to him. He'd probably met loads of Butchers.

"Alright," Homelander said. "Thank you for telling me."

She nodded her head and he realised that her mind had gone to another place. He didn't want her there. He didn't want her in her past. He wanted her here and with him. Turning her around, he dropped his hands to her hips and picked her up, her legs going around his waist.

"What're you doing?"

"You know when you asked me if I wanted something else for dinner? Well, I've decided I do," he said and Victoria shook her head, but she laughed. He sat her down on the long dining table behind the kitchen and kissed her neck softly.

"But…I was cooking…"

"You really want me to stop?" he asked, fingers dancing along her inner thigh, moving higher and higher with each second as he kissed her neck. "Because I think this might be better."

"On the dining table? We eat here," she said to him and he nodded, peeling her shorts down her legs and smirking up at her.

"We do indeed," he agreed with her, kissing softly down her neck, chest and stomach, forcing her to lie down and she completely forgot about their earlier conversation and any notion of cooking dinner.

…

Daniella and Michelle were stood in the kitchen, sipping mugs of tea and watching as Victoria said goodbye to Homelander or, as they had noted last night, 'John', as she called out and groaned. Once he had kissed her goodbye, she turned back to her friends, tugging her robe tighter around her body. Heading over to them, she smiled and went into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of water.

"Well, you two are certainly having a good time," Michelle was the one to say once she had seen Homelander fly up and past their window. "You have a glow to you."

"Yeah, a 'I've just been fucked so good' glow," Daniella added on and Victoria threw a glare across to them, shaking her head firmly and pretending she didn't want to discuss it. But she did want to discuss. She wanted to talk about it because it made her feel normal. She was in a relationship, she was supposed to discuss these things with her friends.

"You two are so crass," she joked and Michelle snorted, tugging at her ponytail and tightening it.

"We're crass? We didn't keep you up most of the night," she said and Victoria bit down on her tongue, remembering exactly how she had warned him that they had to try and at least be quiet. "But, we'll let you off because this is the first time you've ever kept us up."

"But the second time it happens, we won't be as forgiving," Daniella said.

"Definitely not," Michelle agreed and Victoria stood on the other side of the breakfast bar. She sipped on her water and then placed it onto the worktop. She leant against it and looked to the two of them. "So, go on, you need to tell us what he's like."

"You definitely need to tell us," Daniella agreed.

"He's…he's…I mean, I don't know if he would want me to discuss it too much, but let's just say there are no complaints and he's very thorough," Victoria decided on saying.

"And called John, as well," Daniella added on.

"Or, more accurately, Johhhnnnn," Michelle mockingly groaned and Daniella spat out her tea while Victoria rolled her eyes and picked up her water bottle, heading into her bedroom. Michelle and Daniella continued laughing manically.

"You two are incorrigible," Victoria said. "I'm going to shower and change."

Victoria closed the door to her bedroom, setting her water down on her desk and grabbing her phone, checking it and making sure there was nothing urgent for her to check. Homelander had given her a new phone, despite her telling him that there was no need. She could get her own. But he had to make sure she was safe. And so the phone was programmed only to accept messages from her saved contacts, no unknown numbers. There was also a tracking device in it too, but she didn't know that and he wasn't intending on telling her that either.

…

Homelander had given the name of Victoria's brother to Madelyn who ensured him that she would look into him. But Homelander was intrigued. The name hadn't gone away, but there was nothing on his file when he tried to find him. Victoria mentioned that he was former SAS and he also seemed to have links with the CIA. He was, for all intents and purposes, a ghost. But then he remembered her. He remembered her and she had the same last name. And then he remembered her husband. He couldn't picture him, but she had said his name was Billy Butcher. Looking into Becca Butcher, he found nothing on her either. She also seemed to have disappeared. But her husband had been Billy Butcher.

Was it possible that William Butcher was Billy Butcher? Was it possible that Victoria was his sister? Homelander stood in the meeting room for the Seven and looked at the screens on the wall where he had brought up the information. Surely, it had to have just been a coincidence? Then again, Homelander was beginning not to believe in coincidences. He wondered what had happened to Becca. She'd been missing for almost eight years according to the file. He shook his head. He wasn't going back there to that time. He didn't have to.

But it would make sense as to why Billy Butcher was out to get him. He was trying to protect his sister. He was trying to do what he could for her because he didn't trust Homelander with her. Did Victoria know? Did she have any idea that he had known Rebecca Butcher? Had her brother said anything to her when he had popped up in her life? No. He couldn't have. If he had then there would be no chance that Victoria would have come away with him. There was no chance she would have told him about her past. She wasn't that much of a convincing liar.

He thought about what he knew from his research. The first thing was that Victoria had no idea that Homelander knew her brother. The second thing was that William Butcher seemed to want to get his sister away from Homelander because he didn't trust him. Was that because he knew what had happened to Becca? The third thing was that Becca was missing. Perhaps she had just abandoned her husband after that night? It was possible. Homelander didn't exactly check up on people he didn't care about. Whatever was going on, he was not going to get involved. He was going to have a plan and that was it.

And that plan was that he had to protect Victoria from her brother at any cost.

"Hey, they said that you were in here."

He instantly turned the screens off, pressing the button on the remote. He saw Victoria moving into the space, her eyes darting around at the statue on the wall, drinking it all in. She hadn't been there yet. She had explored most of the Tower, but not where the Seven did their business. Homelander tossed the remote onto the table and headed towards her. He gently laid a hand on her hip and bent down to kiss her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked from her.

"Well…I thought that I would come and surprise you because, guess what?"

"What?"

"I've handed in the first draft of my entire thesis," she said and the smile on her face widened and he returned it. She moved to take hold of him by the neck, clinging tightly to him as she wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her closer, an arm going around her waist. "I'm hoping that I'll be able to hand it in at the end of next month and then I just have to wait for the examination, but I'll be done…and that's not the best news."

"Oh, there's more?" he wondered, swaying side to side slightly with her in his grip.

"I got a job," she confessed and his eyes widened. He knew that she had told him she was looking in the city for something, but she didn't know if she would get one because of how competitive the job market was.

"You got a job?" he asked and she nodded.

"I didn't want to tell you in case it never worked out, but I had the interview this morning and they offered it to me then and there," she said. "It's with a start-up civil society organisation helping to arrange lawyers to help with immigration and asylum…lobbying governments….trying to change laws…you know, the kind of job with a real impact."

"That's amazing," Homelander said to her, actually shocked at what he was hearing from her. "And it's in the city?"

"It's in the city," she confirmed. "Daniella is also staying on at the law firm where she's been interning for a while and Michelle has told us that she's accepted a research assistant position. We've decided to stay in the apartment for another year."

"Another year?" he asked from her and she swore she heard a slight tone of disappointment at that from him. Victoria nodded, moving her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," she said to him. "I mean, the lease was coming to an end and the landlord wanted a decision. Daniella said that she will do another year and then she was thinking that she might move in with Georgina and I…well…you know…I thought it felt like the right thing to do."

"Yeah, sure," he said to her with a nod of his head. "But, I mean, haven't you thought about moving in here…with me."

"Oh," Victoria stammered, wondering how her day had gone from seemingly perfect to slightly awkward. She could see the annoyance in the smile that he was beaming in her direction. She didn't entirely feel at ease as she kept a grip on his shoulders. "Well, I mean, we've only been dating for about seven months. I thought it was too soon for us to think about moving in together."

"Why? You practically live here during the week and then I come to yours at weekends," he said to her and she nodded. He wasn't wrong on that point. "I just figured that eventually it made sense for you to move in here."

"I…I just don't want us to jump into anything. Living together is a big decision," she said. "And then there's this place. Do you want to live in your penthouse for your entire life? I like it and it's nice, but wouldn't it be nice to have your own place? Some freedom from Vought?"

He considered what she was saying on that point. He hadn't really thought about it, but now that he was, it sounded quite nice. It almost sounded idyllic. He took a moment to gather himself and think about her words. "Would you want that?"

"What? To find a place together, yes," Victoria nodded, agreeing with him. "Eventually, that sounds perfect, but for right now…I don't think I'm ready to leave that apartment behind entirely. It's nothing to do with us. I think we're in a great place, but I think we need some time before we make that step."

He wasn't convinced, but he let her have it. He didn't want to push her away and tell her that he was ready. He was ready to move in together. He wouldn't worry perhaps as much as he did when she was away from him then, wondering if anyone had gotten to her. Victoria smiled at his nod and moved to kiss him, his lips pressing to hers tenderly as she pushed her body against his.

"Oh…I didn't realise there were people here."

Victoria moved back from Homelander and he wanted to snap at Ashley for interrupting them. Her nervous eyes flashed around them and Victoria moved away from him, putting a respectable distance between them.

"How can I help, Ashley?" Homelander questioned from her and Victoria took that moment to do another sweep around the room, eyes looking at the V-shaped table and the number of monitor screens on the walls that were all turned off.

"Well, I'm actually here to tell you that the newest member of the Seven is joining tomorrow. Madelyn wanted you all to be aware. There's a launch event planned and the Deep is going to be the special guest," Ashley said and Homelander nodded his head. He knew that this was coming with a position to be filled.

"Who has been chosen?" Homelander queried.

"Starlight," Ashley said.

"Oh, I've seen videos of her on YouTube, she's amazing and she's helped her town so much," Victoria said and Homelander glanced back to her as she folded her arms over her chest. "But she's quite young, isn't she?"

"Twenty six," Ashley confirmed.

"Isn't that a lot of pressure on her shoulders?"

"Well, as you know, we take the welfare of all our supes seriously so anything she needs, we can look after her."

Victoria gave a tight-lipped smile at that and Homelander ran a hand over his forehead. "Thanks for the news, Ashley. I'll see Starlight when she attends her first meeting," Homelander said and Ashley got the message that she was being dismissed. Turning to look back to Victoria, Homelander noticed the look on her face. Sighing, he pointed to her. "I know that look," he said.

"It's just bullshit, isn't it?" Victoria said to him, moving to her feet and looking at him. "Vought don't really give a shit about you guys. If they did then what happened to you wouldn't have even happened in the first place and they-"

"-Hey, hey, hey," he interrupted her, moving towards her and grabbing hold of her around the waist, holding onto her once more and placing a finger against her lips. "I adore that you want to constantly look out for me, but I still need to show some loyalty to Vought. Besides, I do believe that they gave you six million dollars."

"And they can have it right back," Victoria said.

They'd had numerous discussions about the contract and the money when they had decided to continue on with their relationship. She wanted to give the money back. She wanted to rip the contract up, but he had persuaded her to take their money, telling her that it was the smart thing to do. She had debated it with him, but he had persuaded her to invest it. And so she had. She had kept it in a saving account, giving some of it to Michelle and Daniella.

"I know you'd have given it back, but the fact is that they are my employer and they did make me."

"I know, but I think it's just fake that they pretend to care when all they really care about is your image for the company," Victoria said to him and he shrugged. "And that makes me feel fake for taking their money and also doing everything they ask me to do."

"Find me a company that isn't slightly morally dubious," he said to her and she knew he had a point.

She sighed and nodded. "I guess it just pisses me off when I think about how they've treated you as a kid."

"Well, I know," he said. And he did understand. He understood it enough to fly to England and do something about how Victoria had been treated as a child. "And, honestly, you…hearing you actually, genuinely care for me means everything, but I don't want to think about it. I don't want to dwell on it."

"Fine," Victoria agreed. She knew when to back off from a topic. She had asked him to do it before and he had always respected her. He gave a tight lipped smile before he noted Maeve enter the room. She was dressed in her uniform, her hair bouncing down her back and looking luscious as always. He could never be able to deny that they had made an attractive couple. They had been a power couple, but never seemingly as much of a power couple as he was with Victoria. Her being a human seemed to work to his advantage, which he couldn't even comprehend.

"Maeve," he said. "What can we do for you?"

"Madelyn is looking for you," she said. "She asked me to see if you were up here."

"Right," Homelander said with a nod of his head and then looked to Victoria. "Meet you upstairs?"

"Sure," she said, her tone not entirely jovial and Homelander wanted to roll his eyes at her attitude. She was too good sometimes and it annoyed him. The world wasn't perfect and he knew that. He just wished that she would stop trying to make it like that.

They hadn't entirely had an argument, but he knew that there was a slight atmosphere. He left, cape sweeping behind him and Victoria let out the breath she had held in. Maeve was silent, looking to her and then to Homelander's retreating figure. She picked up on the tension as soon as she entered the room. It was hard not to notice it.

She mouthed to Victoria, 'you alright?' and she shrugged back to her. Pointing to the ceiling, Maeve silently questioned if she wanted to come with her upstairs. Victoria nodded and followed Maeve to the elevator, neither of them talking as they knew that Homelander could probably listen in. Once they were in Maeve's apartment, Victoria couldn't help but think how airy it felt, covered in white-washed walls with intricate marble floors.

"Drink?" Maeve wondered and Victoria followed her to a small cabinet that seemed to contain every type of spirit she could possibly want.

"You make cocktails?"

"I consider it a necessity," Maeve said. "How do you feel about cosmopolitans?"

"Like I could drink one," Victoria said and she sat down on the stool by the cabinet, Maeve smirking at her response as she began pouring the required liquids into the shaker. "Do you like working here?" Victoria decided to ask.

Maeve shrugged. "I don't not like it," she decided on saying. She didn't know how much she could share with her. She didn't know how deep Homelander had his claws into her. She was quiet, her gaze moving over to Victoria. "Did you two have a fight?"

"Not exactly," Victoria replied. "I mean, we had a disagreement over the way Vought behaves…how it treats you guys…he seems to think that it's fine, but I don't think it is. I mean, sometimes I wonder if they even care about you if you're not making them money."

"They don't," Maeve said honestly on that point. "And it's the world we live in. We knew what we were getting into when we signed up to join them."

"Did you?" Victoria asked because she wasn't entirely sure that was true, especially in Homelander's case. "I don't know, I just feel that the longer we've been dating, the more I've seen of the company and their…ethos…and I know that makes me a hypocrite because I've taken their money, but I just…in the long run, I wonder if he will ever want to escape Vought."

"You think that he would want to give this up?" Maeve asked and Victoria shook her head.

"I don't think he would," she said. "But I don't want our lives to be dictated by Vought or Madelyn Stillwell. She still thinks that she can order us around as a couple despite the fact that our contract has finished."

"You see, this is the reason why I don't date," Maeve informed her and Victoria watched her pour the liquid into a cocktail glass. "It gets messy and complicated. Expectations are set and arguments happen. You miss birthdays because you have a media engagement. You drag someone you love into the limelight and they're ripped to shreds. It's hard. It's not easy."

"You…I don't want to ask a personal question, but why did you break up with Homelander?" Victoria questioned. "I used to look at the two of you on magazine covers that my roommate bought and you always looked so perfect together: America's two favourite superheroes together. It just worked."

Maeve chuckled darkly. She had no idea. "Trust me, it didn't work," she said to her. "It was just an act. A lot of it was just an act, anyway. He might have had real feelings, but he couldn't keep it in his pants."

"He cheated?" Victoria asked and Maeve nodded once.

Had she now put doubts into Victoria's mind? She sipped on her cosmo and looked out of the window. Maeve wanted to put doubts there. She wanted her to get out. But she didn't want to anger Homelander. It was a delicate balancing act that she had to perform and she was uncertain on how to do it.

"Yeah," Maeve confirmed. "But what we had wasn't like what you two have. I can see that."

"You think?"

"For definite," Maeve said to her. "But just know that it is hard. No one said it would be easy, but be careful…you just need to be careful."

"I'll do what I can," Victoria said, but her mind was completely somewhere else and she wondered if she actually knew Homelander as well as she thought she did.

…

"Are you drunk?"

"No," Victoria drawled and she walked further into the penthouse. She dropped her bag onto the floor alongside the coat she had been wearing. Her white shirt was slightly crumpled and she had a green and red checked skirt on her legs. She pulled her hair from under the collar of her shirt where it had been stuck.

"I can smell it on you," he replied. "You really did have a good time with Maeve, huh?"

He was sat on the leather sofa, arms draped over the back of it. He noted Victoria head to the chair that was underneath his flat screen TV. She leaned forwards, hands clasping together and eyes fixed on him. He could see that she was drunk and he wondered just how strong Maeve had been making the cocktails.

"Did you really cheat on Maeve?"

His eyes widened and set on her. She was staring straight at him, her gaze intense and her lips pursed. The amused expression dropped from his face and he shook his head.

"She tell you that?"

"So is it true?"

"She shouldn't be talking about our past."

"I asked her what happened and she just told me. Is it true?"

Homelander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, it's true," he said and his hand moved out to the side. "But what does it matter? It was ages ago and it's not important."

"I think it is important," Victoria said to him. "You dated her and you claimed to care for her, but you still cheated on her. I don't get it. Why do that if you care for someone?"

"Because I felt her pulling back from me," Homelander responded. "Because now I understand that I cheated because, towards the end, we weren't happy…not really."

"But you were at one stage?" Victoria pushed him.

"Is this you asking me in a long-winded way if I have or ever will cheat on you?" Homelander queried from her and she went silent then, practically affirming his suspicions. She looked down and Homelander inhaled a deep breath. He didn't want to do this tonight. He didn't really want to do it any night. This wasn't his plan.

Moving to his feet, he went over to the chair where she sat. He picked her hand up and tugged her to her feet. Sitting down in the velvet blue chair, he pulled her down with him and she willingly went, probably too drunk to protest.

"Do you know how many women I've had proposition me since we started dating?" Homelander asked from her and her eyes widened as she looked to him and tried to stand up, but he kept her firm in his grip, not letting her go from his lap.

"You're seriously asking me that?" she demanded from him.

"Yes, I am," he said. "But in the interests in speeding up this conversation and getting you to bed to sleep off this hangover, I'll tell you. Roughly about fifty…usually in private when you're in the bathroom or when I've been to events without you…while you've been working in the library. And do you know how many I have taken up on their offer?"

"I'm hoping none."

"And you would be correct," he said to her. "Because I am not interested in anyone else."

"But you must have said that to Maeve at one stage."

"Yeah, I did, but I never meant it like I mean it with you," he declared and Victoria watched his face, trying to measure his reaction. He seemed to be being honest with her. "I never loved her like I am falling in love with you. I need you to believe that because I need you to trust me."

"I do trust you."

"Then trust me when I say that I do have the ability to keep it in my pants," he urged from her. "If things get tough between us…if we argue…I would never cheat on you. I would never do that because I care far too much. I would want to work through our issues, not run from them, not like I did with her because you are not Maeve. You are Victoria Anderton. You are the woman I want."

He didn't know if his speech had appeased her, but it seemed to have been enough. She shook her head and played with her hair that hung down her shoulders. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "I just…my mind…you know what it's like. You know me and you know that I'm insecure. I've never had anyone truly love me and I guess it would make sense if you did want someone else because I'm not good enough-"

"-Don't say that," he interrupted her. "You're more than good enough for me."

"I just worry that one day you won't think that," she said. "But I am sorry. I didn't want tonight to go like this. I wanted us to have a nice night because it's been a good day. I wanted us to at least have that."

"And we can," he assured her.

"I wouldn't be sure of that."

"Why not?"

"Because I think I'm about to vomit."

He let her go then and he saw her rush to the staircase. He groaned and ground his teeth together in frustration. He followed her to the bathroom, finding her hunched over the toilet and being sick. He would find Maeve and talk to her, demand to know what she was doing. Was she trying to ruin the only good thing he had?

He acted as the dutiful partner, holding her hair back as she was sick and continued to apologise to him for it. She finally got up when her stomach was emptied and brushed her teeth. He helped her change into her pyjamas and put her to bed, pulling the quilt around her and telling her to get some sleep. It was then when he headed down to see Maeve, storming into her apartment with anger coursing through his body.

"What the hell are you playing at?"

She was looking out of the window, a cocktail in her hands. She didn't bother to turn around. She knew this was coming and she knew that she could act her way out of it.

"She asked me why we split up and I just told her the truth," Maeve said to him as he finally stood inches behind her, trying to intimidate her. "I told her that things weren't great between us in the end and we didn't have what you two have."

"You didn't need to say anything," he sniped.

"I was being honest with her," Maeve said. "She deserves that, doesn't she? She deserves honesty?"

"She deserves to be protected," Homelander said.

"Look, I never meant to cause a problem, but you need to think about this logically," Maeve warned him, finally turning around to look him in the eye. "What if she found out from someone else? It isn't exactly a secret in the Tower. I don't get why you didn't just tell her."

"Like I said, I didn't tell her to protect her. Do you know how desperate she is to be loved? To be enough for someone?" he demanded from her. "She doesn't need to be having doubts placed in her mind."

"You can't protect her from everything and certainly not from rumours," Maeve warned him. "But you've told her the truth and that's the important thing."

"I'm the one who decides what's important, Maeve," he warned her. "I'm the one who makes those decisions, no one else. In the future, just stay out of our relationship."

"I will," she said to him.

He nodded firmly and turned on his heel, taking off back to his apartment. He ensured the elevator was locked, no one with the access code before heading up to his bedroom. Victoria had already rolled onto her side and tugged the duvet from his side of the bed. Watching her sleep, he remained stood there for a few minutes, vowing not to let anyone else get in the middle of what they had.

…

A/N: So we are now heading into the series! Mainly going to stay canon, might be some differences. Thanks as always to everyone who is reviewing - you guys are the best and keep me going! Update again soon, but let me know what you think in the meantime!