Sitting on the sofa in Ashley's office, Victoria was doing her best not to balk at the director they were talking to. She was also pretty sure it was the same man she had heard Ashley having sex with at a film premiere she'd been forced to attend a few years ago and so she was having trouble taking him seriously, especially when she knew how he'd told Ashley he was a lousy director and deserved to be punished. Victoria guessed Ashley had a humiliation kink.

Either way, he was stood there pitching this TV show and she knew Ryan wasn't interested. Truth be told, her own mind wasn't entirely focused on the meeting. She was still thinking about the interview that had taken place that morning and what might happen. She could handle being called a gold digger. She could handle people questioning why she was with Homelander. What she couldn't handle was them knowing about her childhood.

Victoria was perched next to Ryan and Homelander was sat on the sofa opposite them. Victoria tugged at the skirt of the red dress she wore, one leg crossed over the other. The skirt kept riding up her thighs against her stockings and was getting infuriating. She kept her fingers on her kneecaps and tried to focus, glancing to her husband who was leant back with his legs spread. He rolled his eyes at her as Adam spoke to Ryan.

"So, we have a shot from Cameron and Deep and then we announce Ryan's debut series, Super School," Adam said, punching the air with his fists and almost spilling the mug of coffee he was holding in his fingertips.

"That's the title we went with?" Homelander questioned, sounding less than impressed.

"That's the one they cleared," Adam explained and then turned back to Ryan. "Then they're going to throw to me for my little why now moment…you know how I got my inspo in teaching the next generation. And then it's go time. You come out to me, we do a little 2 hour Q&A," he said as a woman dressed in a pink pantsuit walked in, carrying four bottles of water. She had a headset on and was clearly trying to be discreet. She set the water down on the table as Adam turned his attention to her. "Bonnie, you look gorgeous today by the way. Did you get my text?"

And then Victoria looked at Bonnie and she saw it instantly. The look on her face wasn't smiley and happy. It was forced. She was glancing around and was clearly uncomfortable. Victoria shook her head firmly and looked to her husband who just nodded once. He'd seen it too. He knew that Victoria was about to say something, her mouth opening, but he just shook his head once. They still seemed to have an ability to communicate without even talking.

I'll handle it.

"Yeah…they're waiting for us," Bonnie said, pointing to the headpiece she was wearing and indicating they were being listened to.

"Oh, that's for us?" Adam checked. "Yeah, alright, tell them I'll be done in fifteen to twenty."

Bonnie nodded and rushed out the room as Homelander looked to his son.

"Ryan, what do you want to do?" he asked from him.

Ryan was quiet then, glancing to his dad. Victoria rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it before running her fingers down the back of his head. "Your dad just wants to know, honey," she promised him.

"I really do want to know what you think," Homelander promised him.

"It's just…I mean…Super School. Why are we doing a teen show anyway?" he asked, face contorting slightly as he tried to get comfortable with voicing his opinion.

Adam set his coffee down and picked up a bottle of water, looking giddy. "Because we like money?" he said and Victoria rolled her eyes at that comment. Adam picked up on her attitude and took a nervous sip of his water.

"If you don't want to do it then don't do it," Homelander told him, voice earnest and Victoria suspected that this was him trying to change for Ryan's sake. "I mean it," he said, eyes focused only on his son. Victoria felt her lips arch for a second, relief coursing through her veins that he had meant what he said and he was going to let Ryan decide for himself on what he wanted to do.

"I'm just going to pop the horns up here and play devil's advocate," Adam said, desperation clearly shining through in his voice. "We are a month away from shooting. We built all the sets and bought up almost all of the sound stages in Toronto."

"Who cares?" Homelander questioned.

"Did you not even think to ask Ryan before doing any of that?" Victoria piped up as Adam looked to her for a moment and completely ignored her, turning back to Homelander. Victoria's mouth hung open as he said something to her husband, clearly pleading with him to change his mind but in whispers.

"I believe my wife just asked you a question," was all that Homelander said and Adam looked back to her, but he couldn't make eye contact with her.

"I was assured by the team that Ryan would be game," he said.

"But you should've gone to him first," Victoria continued pushing. "Besides, he's a minor. He needs parental approval and I think without my husband's say so, this isn't going ahead. That's the basics of contract law, right?"

"No offence, Victoria…yeah?" Adam said and Homelander felt his jaw twitch. "But this project has been in the pipeline for months. We're all psyched for it," and then he looked to Ryan. "Hey, buddy, what's it going to take to get you amped on this, huh? You want script approval? I can do that. I can make anything fly."

"Dr Anderton."

Homelander's voice rang out and he stood up, hands behind his back as Victoria watched him move from the sofa and walk behind Adam, standing tall and glaring at the man. Adam looked back to him and Victoria watched as Homelander stood to the side of the director, peering down at him.

"Sorry?" Adam asked.

"You address my wife as Dr Anderton," Homelander demanded from him and he gulped loudly but nodded his head.

"Sorry…yes…Dr Anderton," he said, but it didn't sound sincere in the slightest and Victoria realised just what kind of man they were dealing with. She'd seen them in academia over the years. At times, when she'd gone to conferences, there would be professors who would put a hand on her thigh or let their fingers graze low down her back. She would brush them off with a soft comment and then excuse herself.

"Why don't you give him your Black Amex?" Homelander said to Adam and he nodded his head, seemingly on edge. He knew that he had to get on Homelander's good side again and he was clearly willing to do anything to make that happen. For once, Victoria didn't even push back. She was in a foul mood as things stood and she wasn't feeling any sympathy towards the director who was clearly making his assistant uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Adam said and he tugged his wallet. "Why don't you take my whole wallet?" he said and he handed it to Ryan who just looked down at it, slightly uneasy with what was going on.

"And the keys to your Jaguar," Homelander said, inches away from him.

"You know what? I would love to give you the keys to my Jaguar," he agreed and also pulled them from his pocket.

"Ryan, what do you say?" Homelander questioned.

But Ryan just shook his head.

"No," Homelander reiterated and then looked to his wife and son. "Come on."

They stood up and Victoria pressed a hand to Ryan's back and guided him from the room as he still held the keys and wallet. Adam didn't try to make them stay. He just let them go, the door clicking behind him. Ryan glanced down to the wallet and keys in his fingertips and then looked to his dad.

"Shouldn't I give these back?" he wondered.

"Do what you want with them," Homelander said with a shrug.

"Here," Victoria said and held her hands out for the items. Ryan gave them to her and she just dropped them onto the floor as Homelander watched her kick the keys down the corridor in the opposite direction, a smirk tugging on his lips. She shrugged as she walked on Ryan's other side. "What do we need with a Jaguar? You two can fly everywhere. I think he learned the lesson…but I still think you need to have a word with someone and get him fired. Did you see how he looked at Bonnie?"

"I saw and I'll deal with it," Homelander promised his wife.

"And you're not mad with me?" Ryan checked and Victoria heard the innocence in his voice. He just wanted his dad's approval.

"No, I'm proud of you for speaking your mind," Homelander promised him and Victoria looked down the corridor, glancing at the images of supes hanging there. "Ryan, I've been manipulated by people my whole life…being told what to say…where to stand and it's like being a slave…only worse."

Victoria winced at that analogy but remained mute.

"I did some reflecting and I've been doing the same thing to you, but no more," he said, slicing his hand through the air. "No more rules, for either of us."

"Well, there will be some rules," Victoria jumped in then. "I mean, you still have study and you still have to make sure you have lights out by ten."

Homelander chuckled and looked to his wife with a soft gaze as she wrapped her arm around Ryan's shoulders and he chuckled as she pulled him to her side and bent down, kissing the top of his head and ambling by his side.

"Okay, some rules to keep your mum happy," Homelander said and Victoria wondered if he knew what he'd said. Either way, he just kept going and Ryan didn't challenge him. "We are both free, okay. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah," Ryan said with a laugh.

"You know, buddy, I don't care what anyone else thinks but you, your sister and Vicky," Homelander said, hand sitting on his son's free shoulder. "As far as I'm concerned, this whole planet is empty except for us. Okay?"

"Okay," Ryan agreed and Victoria had to admit that a part of her felt some relief that Homelander had done what he had. He'd actually stuck up for his son. He'd given Ryan a choice. He'd put him first.

"Now, why don't you go and grab us some milkshakes?" Homelander asked from Ryan. "I just need to talk to Victoria for a few minutes, alright? We'll meet you downstairs in the cafeteria."

"Okay," Ryan said with a nod of his head.

Victoria looked to Homelander once Ryan had left them alone. She wondered what he wanted, but he remained quiet for a second, just staring at her before he held his hand out to her. She looked down to it and Victoria laced her fingers into his and he gently tugged her to him. Moving his other hand to her cheek, he stroked it gently with his fingertips, thumb brushing along her cheekbone.

"You alright?" he questioned from her.

"I just…it's all I can think about," she said and Homelander nodded.

"I know you're distracted," he assured her. "I know you're worried about the news coming out, but I need you to know that I will have it covered, alright? I will sort this out."

"How?" Victoria wondered from him.

"There's ways," he assured her in a whisper. "Just know that I'm not going to let any of it come out and you're going to be alright."

"You know I'm grateful for that, right?" Victoria checked with her husband and he could hear the gratitude in her voice. He could see that she was grateful as she looked up at him and he let himself get lost in her dark blue eyes. He kept his thumb stroking over her cheek gently before bending down and kissing her tenderly for a moment.

"I know," he assured her. "Now, you go and get Evie from nursery and I'll finish wrapping up things here…and then tonight…we can go to the wrap concert and we'll be fine."

Victoria nodded and he kissed her once more. "Promise me you'll fire Adam too. That guy is a massive creep."

"I'll take care of it, sweetheart, don't worry."

…

Carrying his milkshake, Homelander slurped on it through the straw as he walked by Ryan's side. They were backstage in the auditorium together, ambling side by side. Homelander had checked in on Victoria and Evelyn briefly, finding the two of them on the floor in the living room, playing with Evelyn's fake shop.

"What they're saying about Victoria…why are they saying it?" Ryan wondered from Homelander. The two of them kept walking slowly. Homelander shook his head and exhaled a sharp breath.

"Because journalists can be inquisitive…sometimes too inquisitive for their own good," Homelander replied. "You know that what happened to Victoria was a long time ago. She suffered from her father abusing her and we've kept that quiet for a long time because she doesn't want people to know. And her father has been speaking to people he shouldn't be speaking to."

"But he's been lying?" Ryan checked.

"He's been lying," Homelander assured his son. "You know Victoria, son. You know that she would never act like that. The things they're saying about her on the news are wrong. She's not with me for my money or fame. Have you met her? She hates being in the spotlight."

Ryan chuckled at that, nodding his head.

"But why is her dad lying?" Ryan questioned.

"Because sometimes people say things for a reaction. In this case, I think he's bitter towards his daughter because she made something of herself," Homelander declared. "And people like that, Ryan, are not good people."

"I…I don't like it when she's sad," Ryan declared to his father and Homelander reached over to squeeze his shoulder.

"I don't either, buddy," Homelander agreed. "And it's up to us to protect her, okay? Victoria isn't a supe and so she isn't like us. She's weaker than we are and so we need to look after her. I know she thinks she's strong…but she's not as strong as she makes out."

"I'll look after her," Ryan promised his dad. "Her and Evie. I want to help people. I think that's what I want to do."

"Yeah?" Homelander checked with him. "Victoria said that you wanted to do that and you know that I think it's great. I think it's awesome that you want to help people."

"You do?"

"Of course," Homelander said. "Hey, if you want to help people then why don't you start with her?"

He noticed Bonnie stood to the side with Adam leering around her. Homelander noticed Ryan hesitate, but he pushed him further. "Yeah?" he said.

"Yeah," Ryan decided with a more convincing nod and Homelander took action.

"Adam," he called his name. "Why don't you send that lovely young lady over her please…and you come too."

Homelander watched as his soon took charge, asking Bonnie if Adam was making her uncomfortable. He watched as his son told Adam that he had to apologise, his lips arching slightly at Ryan. He was proud of him. He was even prouder of him when he told Adam to get onto his knees and beg for forgiveness. And Ryan didn't even sound weak or put off. He sounded like he had conviction in his demands, not like he had done when he'd been doing the fake save. And then Ryan told Bonnie to slap him and she did. The slaps just kept coming and Ryan's face lit up. This was what he wanted to do. He wanted to help people and Homelander knew that his son saw people for what they were: nothing more than puppets for them to control.

…

"We need Tek-Knight?" Homelander checked.

He was in the meeting room with Sage once more. Standing there, he was almost annoyed at the plan, but he knew that it made sense. He was smart enough to listen to Sage and he knew that he had to. She was the one who was speaking more sense than most of the others on the Seven.

"A fundraiser at his house with the political elite is what we need," Sage declared. "I know you might not like him-"

"-The guy is a fucking joke," Homelander interrupted her on that point. "And it's not as if he is even close to my level."

"Perhaps not, but he does have what we need if we are going to do this. If we're going to install Neuman as the President then we're going to have dissidents and you know that. You also know that he has what we need to take care of them. The fact is that we need him for the time being. Eventually, he'll be dispensable."

"When is this fundraiser?" Homelander questioned.

"We can arrange it for the next week or so," Sage said. "And your wife?"

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know about this, does she?"

Homelander scoffed. "Do you think that she'd still be letting me sleep in the same bed as her if she knew?" he questioned and Sage realised that there was still power that Victoria held over him. He was almost scared to tell her the truth because he knew that it would push her away. "She doesn't need to know and if she comes to the fundraiser then she'll be kept in the dark. We'll need a sidebar discussion."

"I can arrange that," Sage assured him with a nod. "But the fact is that we still have a mole in this Tower."

"I thought we took care of that?"

"It wasn't Annika. We have evidence now that it wasn't her. Perhaps if you hadn't lasered her brain then I wouldn't have to find evidence," Sage said. "But I don't know who it is. I'm looking into it and I have a hunch, but I just need some more time…but your wife…can you trust her entirely?"

"I've told you not to question our marriage," Homelander warned her, turning to glance down at her and looking away from the screens that were showing the Expo. "Victoria is not a leak. She doesn't know what took place at Planet Vought. She has no idea. My wife is many things and yes, she can be a convincing liar, but she is not that convincing. I'd know if she knew anything."

"But she runs off to her brother whenever she can," Sage replied.

"And tells him nothing because she knows nothing," Homelander said.

"Eventually she will," Sage warned him. "When Neuman becomes President…when we have to deal with people who publicly denounce us…we won't be able to keep those things private and your wife will know. How do you think she will react to that? How do you think it will go down?"

Homelander shook his head for a moment, fingers clenching into fists by his sides as his jaw clenched and his eyes looked off to the side. He knew precisely how she'd react. He knew that she'd be angry. She'd be fuming. Things wouldn't be how they currently were. Victoria might be many things, but she had principles.

"She knows a lot of what I've done in the past and she's still here."

Sage knew that she was still there out of fear. Victoria hadn't left him because she knew how to play him and keep herself and her daughter safe. Victoria wasn't stupid and Sage knew that.

"It's something you need to think about," Sage said. "Because if she publicly speaks out against you-"

"-She would never do that," Homelander interrupted. "Victoria finds things out on a need-to-know basis. She won't cause us a problem."

"So long as you have it covered," Sage relented.

"I have it covered," Homelander said. "Now, you find the leak and once you have them, you tell me. I need to get to the wrap concert at The Garden. Bloomin' Blossoms are playing and I promised Ryan that we would go."

"Not my scene," Sage said.

"Good job you have work to be getting on with," Homelander replied and he swept from the meeting room. He met Victoria and Ryan in the lobby after agreeing to ride with them. Ryan was wearing a jacket and jeans. Victoria had a long-sleeved black top on that was relatively low cut compared to her usual shirts. She was also wearing skinny jeans and ankle boots, looking relatively relaxed.

She was glaring straight at her husband though as Ryan spoke animatedly to her. Homelander stood before them, smiling wide with his teeth bared.

"Ready to go?" he questioned them.

"Yeah," Ryan said.

"Vicky?" Homelander questioned his wife.

"Ready," she said, tone snappy.

Ryan walked ahead of them and Homelander remained a few steps behind with Victoria. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away from him. His brow furrowed. "What's wrong?" he whispered down to her.

"Ryan told me what you did," Victoria grunted back to him.

Homelander's brows knitted together at hearing her. He reached for her forearm and stopped her from walking any further. Ryan turned around when he realised that they'd stopped movin. Looking to his son, Homelander kept the smile on his face.

"Why don't you meet us in the car, buddy?" Homelander asked from him. "I just need a quick chat with Vic."

Ryan agreed and scurried off then as Homelander dragged Victoria off to the side and towards the stairwell. Stepping into it, he looked to her as she tugged her arm from his fingers and went toe-to-toe with him, her glare focused on his face. "You had him have Bonnie beat Adam up?"

"I sorted it," Homelander defended himself.

"You don't sort it like that," Victoria replied. "You don't have Ryan do that…and he…he's been talking about it ever since like he's happy that he did it. He sounded excited."

"He helped someone," Homelander defended himself. "Listen, Vicky, Adam is a piece of shit and we both know that. You saw it at the same time that I did. Ryan wanted to help Bonnie and she also had her revenge. Don't tell me that you wouldn't want to hit Eddie if you had the chance? Fuck, you told me that you wanted to kill him yourself."

Her eyes flickered off to the side at hearing him. She knew that he had a point with what he was saying and that scared her more than she cared to admit. She shook her head and Homelander reached for her hips, dragging her to him until her body was flush against his.

"And I did want to," Victoria agreed with him, "but Ryan…he needs to learn that there's a right way to handle things and hearing how excited he was freaked me out. He's a sweet kid, John. He wants to help people, but there's a right way to help them."

"I know, sweetheart, but Adam needed to be taught a lesson and now Bonnie is safe from him and he won't hurt her again. Fuck, I doubt he'll even be working at Vought for much longer," Homelander replied. "But come on, don't be mad at me over this. Ryan did something good. He helped someone."

Victoria wasn't convinced. She knew that she hadn't been there and seen first-hand what had happened, but Ryan recounting it had her worried. She knew he had morality. She'd seen it inside of him and he'd shown it to her. He'd cried over Koy. He hadn't wanted to hurt people. But was there something else there? Did he actually enjoy having control over people like his father? Victoria didn't know, but what she did know was that she had to keep an eye on him. She had to get him away from Vought in the long run.

"Vicky," Homelander said, snapping her out of her thoughts and she looked him in the eye. He was still smiling down to her, but it was a genuine and soft smile. It was the one he wore when it was just the two of them. "I'm not going to push Ryan any further, but if he wants to help people then I will support him."

"But helping people in the right way," Victoria said and Homelander wanted to roll his eyes. But he didn't. He just nodded his head and ran his hand up her side, feeling her shudder as he gently cupped her neck.

"Helping people in the right way," he echoed. "And he'll need you, Vicky. He'll need you to guide him…I never had a mom growing up and he needs you, alright?"

"I'll help him," Victoria said and she knew that she had to help him because Homelander wasn't going to.

"Good," Homelander said with a nod of his head. "You know…you look pretty hot tonight."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "You have a habit of complimenting me whenever we've fought, you know that?" she checked with him and he chuckled, arms wrapping around her waist and pressing her tighter against him. "And I do not look hot. I wasn't sure what to wear to a concert."

"You do look hot," Homelander assured her. "And that top…" he trailed off, peering down the front of it and noticing the push-up bra she wore.

"Eyes up here," Victoria said to her husband, finger moving underneath his chin and forcing him to look her in the eye instead.

He chuckled and reluctantly tore his gaze away as Victoria arched an expectant brow at him. He rolled his eyes jokingly and squeezed around her waist. "You know I'm a sucker when it comes to those," he said to her and Victoria took her turn to roll her eyes.

"Well, you're going to have to control yourself because Ryan is waiting for us," Victoria said to him and she reached behind her to try and push his arms down and from her. "Come on, we need to go."

"Later," he said, bending down and kissing her forcefully, taking her slightly off guard. He knew that they had to go, even if going to some concert was the last thing on his mind.

…

The Seven had their own box at Madison Square Garden and Victoria was doing her best not to feel too uncomfortable. Sage had decided not to attend, but Firecracker was there alongside The Deep and A-Train. Black Noir was already dancing along to the support act and Victoria knew that the old Noir would never behave like that. The box was plush with sofas scattered around, a table full of food and a bar that was staffed. Ashley was in the background talking to Cameron Coleman in a heated tone.

The support act was getting the crowd going, the lights dimmed and the venue vibrating. Ryan was stood on the balcony of the box, looking out onto the sight and Victoria realised that he'd never been to a concert before. Then again, neither had she. Growing up, she'd never had money for concerts. While all of her friends had been going to see Take That and the Spice Girls, she'd just stayed at home.

"You've never been to a concert?" Homelander checked with her.

They were stood in the box together off to the side and Victoria peered out to the balcony, checking Ryan was okay. She shook her head and held onto the plastic cup that had a beer in it. Homelander didn't think he'd ever seen her drink beer, but she'd been sold when the bartender told her it tasted more like fruit.

"Nope," she said with a pop of her lips.

"I can't believe this is your first concert," Homelander said, shaking his head. "I mean…I should've taken you to see someone better than Vought's manufactured band."

"Vought's manufactured band has some pretty catchy songs," she replied to him. "Besides, the bands I grew up listening to aren't together anymore."

"You know they'd reform if I said something."

"You should've said that when we first met, it might have impressed me even more," Victoria said and Homelander chuckled.

"Nothing impressed you when we first met," Homelander said to her. "I could've bought you every piece of jewellery…an entire florist…taken you for expensive meals…nothing ever impressed you, Victoria. And that's not because you were picky. It was because you never cared about any of those things. You only ever cared about me. You were happier cooking a meal and watching a film together than dining at some Michelin star restaurant and being fawned over."

"You saying I'm boring?"

"On the contrary, it was refreshing," Homelander said to her and she took a sip of her beer, seeming to enjoy the taste judging by the fact she didn't gag on it. "Everything about you was refreshing, Victoria."

"Well, I'm not sure about that," Victoria responded.

"I am," he said and he bent down to kiss her once more. He pulled back and Victoria moved a hand to his cheek, holding it tenderly for a moment.

"I'm just going to run to the bathroom," she said.

"Don't be long. You don't want to miss anything."

"Be right back," she promised him and he kissed her once more before he took her beer from her and held onto it, watching the back of her as she left the room and headed towards the bathroom.

Victoria followed the corridor down past the other boxes in the arena until she came to the bathroom. Pushing the door open, she stepped in and moved to a stall. She undid the belt of her jeans and perched on the toilet, listening to the door open and someone else come in. Flushing the toilet, Victoria checked her tee was tucked into her jeans before she walked out. She frowned when she saw Firecracker stood by the sink, applying her makeup. Their eyes met in the glass and Victoria turned a tap on.

"That bruise looks painful," Victoria said, unable to stop herself.

Firecracker glared at her in the mirror as Victoria ran her hands under the tap after pushing the soap dispenser down.

"It'll heal," Firecracker said in her low drawl. "And does he know that you were there supporting that baby killer?"

"Well, he sure as hell knows I wasn't there trying to help the child groomer," Victoria shot back and Firecracker dropped her mascara brush onto the ledge above the sink by the mirror.

"You don't appreciate him," Firecracker said and Victoria rolled her eyes. "You don't know who he is, do you? He's a God. He's everything and you betray him at every turn. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Victoria laughed in disbelief for a moment then. "I should be ashamed of myself?"

"You make his life ten times harder than it needs to be," Firecracker said and Victoria dried her hands on a towel, tossing it into the wastebasket underneath the sink when she was done. "He gives you everything. He gave you a child. And how do you repay him? You cavort with the enemy. You hang off his arm…bat your eyes at him…but it's not always going to be enough and he's going to see that soon enough. He's going to see how ungrateful you are and when that time comes, I'll be waiting."

Victoria laughed again then and folded her arms over her chest. "Are you seriously standing in front of me and threatening to take my husband away from me?" she checked with her.

"It won't be taking him away if he willingly comes," Firecracker said.

"And you honestly think he'd look twice at you?" Victoria wondered.

"Oh, he will," Firecracker confirmed. "Because I have something that you don't…something he longs for…"

"And what's that?" Victoria wondered, but Firecracker just smirked and put her makeup into her small pouch and grabbed it. A smirk remained on her face as she moved closer to Victoria and leaned towards her, whispering against her ear hotly.

"You'll find out," Firecracker assured her.

Victoria kept her head held high and just watched her leave the bathroom. The door swung shut behind her and Victoria looked to the mirror, glancing at her reflection and exhaling a deep breath. She had no idea what Firecracker was going on about and a part of her didn't entirely care because she suspected it was a load of rubbish. Then again, why did Victoria fight so hard over her husband? Was it because of him or because she despised Firecracker? She wasn't entirely sure.

Leaving the bathroom, Victoria headed back down the hall towards the box. She frowned for a moment as she saw A-Train and Ashley stood by the fire escape, hunched over a phone and doing something. She wasn't entirely sure what and she didn't go over to them to get involved.

She just went back into the box and made her way to the balcony where Ryan and Homelander were. Her husband handed her the beer back and she stood in the middle of them. Firecracker was off to the side with The Deep and Victoria met her eye for a moment. Instead of looking defeated, Firecracker looked like she was smug about something. Homelander picked up on the exchange, frowning.

"You okay?" he checked with his wife.

"Fine," she said to him. "We just had words."

"Words?"

"She doesn't like me and I don't like her," Victoria said. "That's not going to change."

Homelander simply nodded his head, seemingly appeased with her response. He didn't challenge her any further as the band took to the stage, all of the lights going out and the crowd roaring loudly. Homelander had heard some of their music in passing and he had to admit that it was annoyingly catchy. Their music was verging on rock music, but mainly for the masses.

He stood back as he watched his wife sing along and Ryan also sang along. As the set went on, Victoria drank more of her beer and he watched her as she got into it, cheering and singing loudly and completely off key. Homelander kept on smiling as she raised her arm in the air, tossing her hair back and seeming to lose any inhibition. At one point, she took Ryan's hand and he watched his son let her, laughing as she shuffled him around and he even twirled her under his arm, despite the fact she had to duck to let him and the two of them laughed together.

Homelander didn't think he'd ever seen his wife like this before. He'd never really seen her dance or sing. If he had, it had been when he'd caught her in the kitchen cooking and she instantly stopped before he could mock her. Her off-pitch singing didn't even bother him. He had eyes only for her as she moved and cheered.

Once the concert was finished and the lights went up, he noticed her cheeks were blushed and no doubt her ears would be ringing from the vibrations. He took hold of her hand as she wrapped an arm around Ryan's shoulders. The three of them left together, moving out the back and avoiding the crowds as they reached a car and went back to the Tower.

"I take it you had a good time?" Homelander asked.

"They were amazing," Ryan exclaimed. "It was crazy…all those people…"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Homelander said. "And you, sweetheart?"

"It was great," Victoria said and she suspected she was slightly tipsy after drinking two and a half pints of that beer. She felt light-headed, but she didn't care. She felt lighter than she had in a long time and for those two hours she'd been able to forget about the news from the day.

They drove back to the Tower and Homelander listened to his son and wife talk about what their favourite song had been for the night. They were both seemingly hyped up and he could hear the blood pumping to their hearts like a drum. Once they arrived at the Tower, Victoria thanked Natalie, their babysitter, for looking after Evelyn and she went upstairs to check on her quickly. Homelander urged Ryan to go and get some sleep and he made sure everything in the penthouse was secure. He headed up to the master bedroom and found Victoria already there. She was sat on the bench in the walk-in wardrobe and tugging her jeans from her legs, but she was struggling slightly. Homelander chuckled at the sight of her and stood in the doorway, arms folded over his chest.

"Need a hand?" he asked her.

"I don't know why I thought skinny jeans were a good idea…I think I've sweated myself into them," she said and if anyone else had said that, Homelander would have found it embarrassing, but coming from Victoria, he almost found it endearing. He moved towards her and knelt on the ground, reaching for the top of her jeans and tugging them down her legs, freeing her. He watched as she laid down on the bench, legs dangling over the side of it and hands on her stomach that was still covered in her tee. Homelander tossed the jeans to the side and saw that she was wearing black briefs.

"I think I'm tipsy," she muttered, hand going to her forehead.

"I know you are," he said to her and he moved to kneel in between her legs. She propped herself up on her elbows, hair falling behind her and eyes set on him. Her pupils were dilated and he could smell the alcohol on her.

"She wants to fuck you, you know?" Victoria said and Homelander arched his brow as he wrapped his hands around her calves, dragging her further down the bench until he had her legs wrapped around him.

"Is that what you were talking about with her in the bathroom?" Homelander asked her.

"More or less," Victoria shrugged. "She's obsessed with you. She sees you as a God…kept on saying how she'd get you one day because she has something that I don't."

"And what would that be?" Homelander wondered.

"She didn't say," Victoria said. "She said I'd find out though…I mean…she's a supe, I'm not…but that's obvious…she's a conspiracy theorist and she thinks I'm a liberal snowflake…but again obvious…"

"Whatever it is she thinks she has, I'm not interested, Vic, and you know that," Homelander said to her. "You're the only one I'm interested in and will ever be interested in."

"She is hotter than me though."

Homelander frowned at that. "You think that matters?"

Victoria frowned. "You think she is hotter than me?"

"No," Homelander quickly said. "I didn't say that. I just meant that…I'm not interested…if a woman looks good then it doesn't matter to me because to me…you're the most beautiful woman in the planet and no one even comes close. It's just you who I want, Victoria."

Victoria continued watching him and he watched as her brows knitted together and she just nodded. "Good save," she mumbled and flopped onto her back once more. Her thoughts were scattered and her head was starting to pound. She closed her eyes and thought about what he'd just said as she felt him bend over her, pushing her tee up and kissing the skin that it left in his wake. He peeled it over her head as she remained laid down and he glanced down to her as he saw her chest heaving.

He moved his lips along the edge of her bra, his hand snaking up towards the strap on her shoulder and tugging at it. Before he could pull it down, Victoria moved then. Using her legs around his waist, he let her roll him onto the floor and she hovered over him. He could've stopped her if he wanted to, but he was intrigued.

Victoria's bra strap remained dangling down her left shoulder, hair falling in her face. Homelander reached his hands towards her back, looking for the bra clasp, but Victoria stopped him. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them by his head, bending over him, her hair tickling against his neck and he had to admit that he was amused. It was usually him who took the lead, but here was his wife, dressed in only her underwear and thinking she could pin him down.

"You better not be shitting me," Victoria said to him and she looked him in the eye as he shifted slightly underneath her, feeling overdressed. "You don't so much as look in her direction. Even when she's in front of you…flaunting herself…you do nothing with her."

"You don't need to be threatened by her," Homelander promised his wife.

"I know," Victoria said and she bent down, chest brushing against his. "And you tell me everything, John. I mean it. If you want to make this work then you tell me everything…what she does…no secrets."

Homelander nodded, willing to agree to anything at that moment in time. Victoria, on the other hand, was wondering if there was a chance she could get some control back. She wondered if it was possible.

"I'd do anything for you," Homelander told her.

"I know you would," Victoria said, reaching to undo his belt buckle and trying to gather her senses. She shouldn't be doing this. She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She closed her eyes and thought about what Alex would say if he knew. She felt Homelander reach for her once more, hands grabbing her waist and trying to get her to move. But Victoria shook her head and grabbed his wrists again.

She knew that this was going to happen. She knew it since the stairwell when he'd basically told her it was. She guessed that was why she'd drank enough to be tipsy. But she wasn't going to let it happen on his terms. She was tired of it always being him in control.

Grabbing his wrists, she put them back by his head and bent down, forehead against his. "Keep them there," she demanded from him.

His brow furrowed. "This is new," he murmured.

"If you move them then I stop," she warned him and he kissed her, but she bit his lip roughly and he gasped for breath before she pulled back from him and moved to tug his pants down his thighs, leaving them around his knees. Homelander felt her move against the hardness in his pants and he tossed his head back, a loud groan escaping him as Victoria pressed her hands to his chest and rolled her hips.

"Please," he whispered to her and Victoria wrapped a hand around him and he moaned even louder, looking at her as she moved her own underwear to the side and sunk down onto him. She let out a deep breath until her hips were flush with his, head tossed back.

"I need to touch you," he mumbled, fingers clenching on the soft carpet beside him, trying to grip onto something. "Please…let me…"

"Not yet," Victoria said, gathering her breath as she remained still and he tried to move his hips to get her to move. After what seemed like an eternity, she ground her hips forward and moved her hands either side of his head. "Stay still," she whispered into his ear.

"Victoria…sweetheart…please…" he pleaded with her and she shook her head. "I need to see them," he whispered. "Please."

"Promise me," she whispered into his ear and fiddled with her bra clasp at her back. "Promise me that it's us…us against everything…nothing else matters…"

"I promise," Homelander whispered, nodding his head.

"Sage…Firecracker…Neuman…none of them matter. It's me, isn't it?" she said and she pulled her bra down her arms, tossing it off to the side as Homelander looked to her bare breasts, trying to reach for them with his lips, but Victoria grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eye instead. "I'm the one you need," she said and he felt something inside of him then that he couldn't quite understand. It felt like Victoria had infiltrated every single pore in his body and he was overwhelmed by it. "It's just me, John. Tell me that it's just me."

His forehead pressed against hers and Victoria felt him kiss her, seeming to pour everything into the kiss. Victoria moved a hand to his neck, holding onto him and steadying herself. Pulling back, his voice broke slightly as he kissed his wife sweetly one more time.

"It's always been you, Victoria," he whispered, voice hoarse. "Always you."

…

Victoria could feel her thighs burning and she knew that she'd have marks on her chest and neck that she'd need to cover up. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened or what she'd done, but she found herself feeling too exhausted to dwell on it. She'd had him on the floor of the walk-in wardrobe and he had watched in awe as she came apart above him. He'd finally moved his hands to her, touching any slither of skin he could before he stripped completely and they sat on the bench and he moved her in his lap, seeing her give into pleasure once more. By the fourth time, she was begging him to stop, but he hadn't. He'd felt her bite against his shoulder and then collapse against his front.

Now, she was laid in their bed, naked with the quilt draped over her. Homelander was laid next to her, cradling her in his arms with her head moving up and down against his chest. He had stroked her hair as she fell asleep and he almost wondered if this was enough. Did he need to keep going? Could he not just spend the rest of his life in bed with his wife?

But then he remembered the world he had to create to keep his children safe. And he knew that world had to include keeping Victoria safe.

He manoeuvred her gently until she was laid on the pillow. She rolled onto her side and he tugged the quilt up her arm, covering her completely. Bending down, he pressed a tender kiss to her shoulder. He brushed her hair from her face and moved from the bed. He dressed quickly and silently, making sure she didn't stir from where she slept. He turned the lamp off and the bedroom was bathed in darkness.

He checked in on Evelyn and Ryan before heading to the balcony and taking off into the night sky. He flew for longer than he had done in such a long time. The air was cold and the smell of the ocean inflamed his nostrils. He vaguely knew where he had to go. He'd looked it up earlier and he knew that he had to do this.

Landing on the pavement, he looked around at the tower blocks around him. They were a mixture of greys and whites. He could smell cannabis coming from one of them. He heard a dog barking in another home. Graffiti littered the sides of the buildings and the parking lot in the middle had old cars, one with a missing wheel and another with a smashed window. The night air was cool and in the distance, he heard the noise of sirens and laughing teenagers. Some windows in the twenty-storey tower blocks were covered in curtains, others in newspaper and some boarded up.

Homelander moved towards the tower block he wanted and pushed the door open and off its hinges. He looked around. The CCTV was broken. The cameras were smashed. Homelander knew he could fly up there, but he was going to take his time. He pressed the button for the elevator and rode it up to the sixth floor, wrinkling his nose as he noticed a dog shit in the corner. Stepping out of the elevator, he moved along the outdoor corridor to the fifth apartment.

Knocking on the door, he waited patiently for someone to answer. It had just gone four a.m. in London. He heard shuffling from the other side of the door and then looked at the man as he opened it. He didn't even look shocked at who was on the other side of the door.

"Can I come in?" Homelander asked him and the man stepped to the side.

Homelander held his hands behind his back and moved into the apartment. He looked around at the frayed carpets and the stains on the walls. The wallpaper was peeling off in some places and there was a wet patch on the ceiling, perhaps from a leak upstairs. The furniture was also old and frayed. Homelander knew there wasn't anyone else in the apartment which meant her mother was out. He looked through the door into a bedroom and he knew it had been Victoria's. He looked at the wardrobe in the corner and he imagined her locked in there. He imagined her crying as she begged to be left out. He looked at the single bed against the wall that had a poster of the UN system above it. The bed was unmade, the mattress turning yellow. That had been where she'd spent most of her nights crying herself to sleep.

"I thought she might've been the one who came here."

The voice was gruff and the accent exactly like William's. Homelander almost wondered if Victoria had trained herself to get rid of her accent.

"Do you think that I would let her come back here?" Homelander asked, tearing his gaze away from her bedroom and looking to the man who sat down in the chair, reaching for his glass of scotch. Homelander moved back into the living room and didn't sit down. He stood by the kitchen, ignoring how it was littered with bottles of alcohol.

"Couldn't be bothered to come and see her dying dad, huh?" he retorted. "Not surprising…my wife walked out…own son threatened me when I last saw him…always imagined that when Victoria got married, her own father might be asked for permission."

Homelander smirked. "You truly think I'd come to you and ask for permission to marry your daughter?" he checked with him.

"Would've been courteous."

"Courteous?" Homelander echoed the word back to him. "Just like you were courteous to her? She told me everything. She told me what you did to her…what you let that man do to her."

Sam Butcher simply scoffed and shook his head. "That girl's always let her imagination run away with her. She was sixteen and Eddie said she put it on a plate for him."

Homelander chuckled darkly and leant back against the worktop behind him. "You know, the thing with being a supe and having my powers is that I know when someone is lying," Homelander told him. "I have super hearing. I can hear a lie in someone's pulse. Their heartrate changes as well…there's also a certain tone some people use. But I don't need to do any of that because I know you're lying. I know because my wife has shown me the scars on her arms. She's woken up from nightmares…crying about what you did to her."

Sam shook his head. "I did what I had to so that I could make those kids tough."

"Victoria is tough, but it is with no thanks to you…and even after everything you did…she's stronger than you could ever imagine," Homelander declared and Sam shrugged his shoulders. "And that makes me wonder why you decided to run your mouth."

"Because it's true," Sam said. "You didn't know her as a kid. She always had her nose buried in a book…acting like she was better than everyone…better than this place…and when she married you, well, she'd made it. She finally had her meal ticket because that girl was never clever enough for a career at the UN. They'd have figured that out eventually. But she used her noggin for something else…to bag someone who would look after her forever. She really trapped you, didn't she? Even got pregnant."

Homelander could feel the anger course through his veins. He was on the verge of lashing out. He knew that it was coming and he knew that once it hit, he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Your daughter is highly intelligent and she didn't trap me. She fell in love with me just as I fell in love with her. I wouldn't expect a lowlife like you to understand that," Homelander retorted. "She doesn't know I'm here. You see, she would leave you here to die…and she's not wrong. That tumour inside of you means you don't have long left."

"So why are you here?" Sam asked from him, taking another sip of his scotch. "To warn me from saying anything else? Trust me, you could warn me off, but I'm not scared of you. You kill me? You save the tumour a job. Besides…a story about you coming here and threatening me would sell for a pretty penny."

Homelander wondered how a man so abhorrent could've had a part in creating someone like Victoria.

"Oh, you're not going to talk to the press anymore," Homelander said to him. "In fact, you're going to keep your mouth shut. Victoria's name is never going to be uttered from your mouth again."

Sam chuckled. "So you did come here to threaten me?" he checked.

"Well, killing you would be a waste of my energy when I suspect you have weeks left," Homelander said. "But I am here to make sure you pay for what you did to Victoria…what you let Eddie do to her…because you knew, didn't you? You knew everything."

"Eddie said that she wanted it."

"So you believed him? Or did you not question it because of how cheap your rent was?"

"You think you know hardship? You have no idea what it's like. You live in your golden castle…untouchable…don't you dare judge me for the choices I've made."

"Oh, but I am," Homelander replied with a nod of his head. "I am judging you. And perhaps if you kept quiet then I'd have left you to die in peace, but you didn't. You decided to open your mouth and speak and I need to make sure you never talk again about what you did to her…and I do have certain methods…and you might not be threatened, but trust me…you should be."

Homelander sauntered to stand in front of him and he took the scotch from his hand before grabbing his little finger and bending it backwards, breaking it and hearing the bone crack. Sam shouted out in pain and Homelander went to sit on the edge of the sofa, watching as he cradled his hand in his other hand, whimpering pathetically.

"It was your son who told me that when it comes to torture, you need to start small," Homelander said. "You have nine other fingers and thumbs I can break…how painful do you think that would be? Then we could move onto toes before I go for bigger bones…the arm, for example…or perhaps the spine. We could move along each vertebrae until we find the one that renders you paralysed…and I could leave you here unable to move, shitting yourself until you die."

Sam shook his head and took a deep breath. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "I won't talk. I promise I won't talk."

"I don't know," Homelander drawled, fingers drumming against his thighs, "I'm not entirely convinced on that. You haven't given me reason to trust you."

"What do you want to know? You want to know how I offered her up to Eddie on a plate? You want to know how I heard what he did in there but didn't stop it because it meant we could stay here? Fine."

"Jesus fucking Christ, you're bad at being tortured despite talking a big game," Homelander said to him. "And I'm still not convinced…no…I'm not leaving here until I'm sure you're not going to talk."

It was then when he spotted them. Homelander stood up again and moved towards the worktop in the kitchen. He picked up the packet and held them in Sam's direction. "Are these what you used to use?" he asked and Sam went quiet then, seemingly not sure what he should say. Homelander waved the packet in front of him and grabbed the lighter that had been sat next to it. "Answer the question, Sam," Homelander urged from him.

"She needed to learn," Sam said. "She always spoke back…thinking she was better than me…she didn't know her place."

"And so you would burn her? You would hold your cigarette to her skin until it burned her and what? She cried? Begged you to stop?"

But he didn't answer. Homelander dropped the box of cigarettes and the lighter onto Sam's lap and he sat back down on the sofa.

"You know, she won't let anyone see those scars?" Homelander checked. "She showed them to me when she trusted me and I spent hours kissing them as if I could wash away what you did, promising her that they didn't define her…comforting her…and it's me who holds her when she wakes up screaming because she's back here…in this place…scared of her own father."

"If you want me to apologise then I will," Sam said. "Is that what you want? You want me to apologise to her?"

"I want you nowhere near her," Homelander said with a shake of his head. "No. I told you why I'm here. I'm here to make sure you don't talk again…but not to kill you…no…I'm here to show you that there's other ways to make someone stay quiet. That's why I want you to take a cigarette from that box and hold it against your skin until I say so…and then we're going to repeat that for as long as it takes for that packet to run out and, judging by its weight, I'd say it's almost full."

Sam's eyes widened and he shook his head. "You're deranged," he spat.

"Oh no, I'm just here for revenge," Homelander replied.

"You? American's Golden Boy? Perhaps she really does have a type…daddy issues?" Sam suggested.

"To compare me to you would be comical if it wasn't so insulting," Homelander replied. "Now. Take out a cigarette and light it."

"And if I don't?" Sam asked.

Homelander's eyes burned red then and his lips curved upwards. "Oh, I'm not sure you'd want to see."

…

It had gone five a.m. by the time Homelander was back in New York City. He'd snuck back into the penthouse and climbed the staircase back to the bedroom. Victoria was still sleeping, the quilt having fallen to her waist and baring her naked upper half to the room. Homelander tried not to stare as he slipped out of his suit and left it in a pile on the floor. She was sprawled over his half of the bed and she grumbled as he sat down, the mattress dipping beneath him.

"Where have you been?" her sleepy voice asked him.

"I just had to deal with some business."

"You okay?" she asked him and he slipped into the bed, laying flat on his back and reaching for her, bringing her towards him until her arm was over his waist and her head tucked by his shoulder. She was still too tired to know what was going on.

"Perfectly fine," Homelander assured her, the back of his hand running along the side of her breast. She shivered under his fingertips and reached for his hand before he could go any further. She clung onto it and moved her face against his neck, breathing heavily.

"Still tired," she mumbled and Homelander supposed he could wait a few hours, despite feeling very awake all of a sudden. He nodded his head and kissed her forehead as she let his hand go and moved her arm back over his midriff. He kept an arm around her shoulders and heard her doze off once more, her breathing steadying.

He looked at the ceiling, lips curved upwards and a sense of glee overcoming him as he heard the screams continue to echo in his ears.

...

A/N: So this is probably the longest chapter I've written so far! Lots going on in the space of one day here! As always, your thoughts mean so much to me and I love reading your comments!