Homelander had expected Starlight to corner him eventually after everything that had happened. The day after the super-terrorist attack, or super-villain, as he was also called, meant numerous media appearances. Homelander had been to the community centre the night before to do his duty in handing out relief for those who had been hurt, but he was angry. Stormfront had been the one to kill the super-terrorist. She had defied him when he had said that he was Homelander's. And now she was all over the TV. She was the new loved hero and he could feel nothing but disrespected. Her little live streams were becoming increasingly popular and he needed to find a way to get her to stop them.
She was pissing him off beyond belief and he didn't know how to make it stop. What she had said to him the day before had annoyed him too. She thought that she had the right to question his relationship with Victoria? No. She had no right to do any of that. He was the one who asked the questions. No one challenged him. No one dared to challenge him.
"We need to talk."
He had been on his way down to the meeting room when Annie stepped into the elevator, dressed in full costume with her hair neatly curled and her makeup freshly applied. The doors closed behind them and Homelander rolled his eyes, shaking his head back and forth.
"I have nothing to say to you," Homelander said, sniping his response. But Annie was persistent.
"No, I think you do," she snapped back. "What was that about in the drains?"
"Me?" Homelander asked, hand going to his chest as he moved to the control panel, pressing the emergency stop button. Turning to her, his gaze darkened and Annie wondered if she had ever seen him look as he currently did. There was a menace to him she had seen before, but it seemed worse. It seemed as though he was unhinged. "I'm not the one who didn't kill Hugh Campbell, which makes me think you really are still working with him."
"I'm not working with him because he broke my fucking heart," Starlight spat back at him and he tried to weigh up if she was lying. But she was in his face, refusing to back down from him. She wasn't going to let him see any weakness, despite the fact that she was quite terrified of him. "I didn't kill him because that's not who I am. I am not a killer. So if you want to kick me off the team…kill me yourself…then just do it but I know that you won't because of your girlfriend."
His lips curved at that, his teeth bared and a chuckle of disbelief coming from his lips. "You think that I'd spare your life for Victoria?" he checked.
"I know that she thinks you're perfect, but you're not, are you?" Annie continued to push him and he was doing his best not to lose his temper with her. She knew how to goad him. She knew how to push him to his limit. "She thinks you're all goodness…kindness…but I saw something different in that tunnel. I saw something that we both know she would never see from you."
He lashed out then, a hand going to Annie's throat and pushing her up against the wall. He was fed up with being threatened. First, it was Edgar and now it was Annie. She moved a hand to his wrist, but she couldn't pull it off of her. His fingers pressed into her ribs, threatening to pierce skin and she gasped for breath loudly. He loosened his grip for a second and let her continue to talk.
"What are you doing to her?"
"I am giving her the life she deserves," Homelander snapped. "I am the God who protects her…loves her…I chose her and nothing and no one is going to ruin that. So, I suggest you forget what you heard in the tunnel because if you even think of running to Victoria and shooting your mouth off then I'll make sure I hurt you and everyone who you love. Am I clear?"
His grip increased and Annie choked once more. His face came closer to hers and he growled at her, eyes burning red with menace. "Am I clear?" he snapped back.
"Yes," she managed to choke out to him and he let her go. She doubled over and gasped for breath. He pressed the button to start the elevator again and Annie continued coughing, having no chance to say anything as soon as the doors opened and he left her alone.
Once she had managed to compose herself, she went straight back to her room. Changing from her costume, she dressed in her jeans and a blue zip-up hoodie. She text Hughie and told him to meet her as soon as possible. Looking into the mirror, she removed most of her makeup and slipped into her trainers before shrugging into a brown jacket and putting her sunglasses onto her face. She had to get the truth before it was too late because, after what she had just seen, Homelander wasn't someone Victoria needed to be around.
…
"I need the truth, Hughie."
They had gone for a walk through Central Park, Annie saying that she was concerned that them releasing Compound V had done nothing. Vought was still operational and running. It had all felt as though it was for nothing and Annie was slowly coming to breaking point. She didn't know how long she could keep going, lying to Homelander and pretending that everything was completely hunky dory.
"Annie, I never told you the truth because…because I worried what you would do if you knew," Hughie said to her, hands going to her shoulders and holding them in his grip as he saw her eyes begin to water. She wasn't herself. She looked as though she was ready to crumble and Hughie didn't know how to deal with that.
"I can't do this," Annie said, a tear rolling down her cheek and her eyes brimming with more. "I can't keep doing this because he knows…he suspects me…he doesn't trust me and I'm scared about what he can do. I know what he can do because of what he was going to make me do in the tunnel."
"What did he do to you?" Hughie asked, fearing for her, brows creasing together and forehead wrinkling. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling the comfort that she had longed for. She hated that he had lied to her, of course she did, but she couldn't hate him. She found herself still caring far too much for him.
"He cornered me in the elevator and threatened me. He told me not to tell Victoria anything or he'd kill the people I care about…Victoria…if she knew that…if she had any idea of him saying what he said then she'd despise it. I know her. She's good. She's got a good heart and him…I'm beginning to think he doesn't and I need it to make sense. I need to know why Butcher is so concerned about his sister."
Hughie sighed and they went silent as a jogger went past them. He waited until the figure had retreated before inhaling deeply. "If I tell you, Annie, then you can't do anything. You can't act out because he…he would kill you. He's not good. There is probably not a single good bone in his body if you believe what I'm about to say."
"Tell me, Hughie."
"Homelander raped Butcher's wife."
The words sat between them, Annie's face contorting as she tried to process the information. There was a look of disbelief on her face, her eyes widening and her teeth chewing her bottom lip. Shaking her head, she didn't believe it. How could she? None of it made sense.
"Her name is Becca and she's alive. Vought is keeping her in some facility somewhere because she…she had his son," Hughie said to her and Annie leant against the wall of the underpass, hands going to her thighs as she bent over slightly. Hughie continued talking, needing to get it all out at once before he couldn't or Annie interrupted him. "Butcher said that he saw her with his own eyes. He saw his wife and a kid the spitting image of Homelander…and Victoria did too. That night when Stillwell died, Homelander did it. He took Victoria to that house and framed it all on Billy."
Annie shook her head, looking up to Hughie and managing to stand up straight. "That's not possible. She doesn't remember any of it."
"Because he had her memories wiped," Hughie said. "He had them wiped so that she thinks Billy is the bad guy, which he usually is, but not in this case. As far as she knows, Homelander had a consensual relationship with Becca and a son, but she doesn't know the truth."
"He couldn't…how could he…" Annie stammered for words. None of this made any sense to her. How could he do that to her? How could he hurt her like that?
"Think about it," Hughie urged from her. "You said yourself that Victoria had been missing in the days before Stillwell's death. And then the day of the Christmas party. You said that she hadn't been herself…that there were bruises…he did that to her."
"Fuck," was all Annie could say as it all fell into place.
It all had to be true because why would Homelander be so concerned with Butcher's wife? Why mention her in the tunnel? And why would Butcher be so scared for his sister? Because he had been. There was no denying that or hiding it. He had been worried for her. And now Annie found herself trapped.
"I need to get her away from him."
"No, no, no," Hughie said quickly with a firm shake of his head. He reached for her, holding onto her arms. "You can't do that. You can't tell her you know anything because then he will know and God knows what he'll do to you. That's why I didn't tell you, Annie. I didn't tell you because I'm scared for you…and Victoria…I know Butcher loves her. I know he would do anything for her…but I would do anything for you and that meant keeping this from you because I'm worried about what he would do to you."
"But Victoria needs to know the truth. We need to be worried about her."
"And Butcher is, but you've seen the two of them together. The irony is that she's probably safe so long as she doesn't know the truth."
"But that's not right," Annie said quickly. "She needs to know the truth because right now she's living a lie."
"And do you think we could convince her otherwise?" Hughie wondered from her. "Because he loves her and she loves him. She believes everything he tells her."
"What if she didn't?" Annie asked. "What if there was a way for her to get her memories back?"
Hughie's brows furrowed. "Like finding a supe?"
"Exactly like that," Annie said with a nod of her head.
…
Laying in the back of the truck, Billy almost felt a sense of contentment as his wife remained in his arms and he took a drag of her cigarette. He blew the smoke out into the air as Becca laid back. He couldn't quite believe that he had actually found her, thanks to Mallory. He didn't think it was possible, but it was. His wife was back with him. After indulging in each other, they had laid there when they'd dressed again and he had been in awe of her. He'd been unable to stop touching her, hand running down her hair and eyes looking at her perfect face.
He never thought that this moment would come and he never wanted to let her go now that he had her. His dreams had been nothing compared to the reality of Becca Butcher. But he had to be practical too. He had to find a way to get her out of this facility she was living in and, if that meant taking her kid, then so be it. He would do it because he had no other option. He let out a shaky breath as Becca shifted against him, his chin nestling in her hair.
"How have you survived this?" he asked from her in a soft voice, well, as soft a voice he could manage with his gruff tone.
She shrugged. "It's not so bad when you get used to it," she assured him. "Do I miss lazy Saturdays on the sofa smoking pot and eating Cheetos? Of course I do. But that's not who I am now. I'm a mom…and Ryan…he really is a great kid. I know you hate kids and you've never cared for having them, but he-"
"-No, no, no," he interrupted her with a firm shake of his head. He didn't want her thinking that. "I don't hate kids…and I'm sure you've done a great job with him…but he…I saw his eyes that day…he's a supe, isn't he?"
"Well, yes, but I'm not raising him like that," Becca said quickly to her husband with a shake of her head, eyes searching his intently. "I'm not raising him with powers. I'm raising him like a normal kid because that's important. He's nothing like his father…I don't want him ever to be anything like him…and I need to get him away from him because I'm scared about what he could do to him."
"I understand, Becca," Billy promised his wife. "I understand entirely and I'm going to get you both out of here, alright? We're going to go somewhere and be away from all of this. I'll make sure of it."
Becca bit down on her tongue for a moment before asking him the question that had been trapped there ever since Billy had come up with a plan to get her out. It involved hiding in the garbage truck, but it had to work. They could all escape and they could be a family. But there was something that Billy wasn't telling her.
"And Victoria?"
The question hung in the air, both of them clearly not too thrilled with saying anything on that matter. Becca looked back to her husband and saw how he looked down. She knew that leaving Victoria was his biggest regret and no matter how many times she tried to get him to talk her, he wouldn't. He wouldn't find her or reach out, claiming that there was no coming back for them.
"I'll get her out too."
"He told me that he's going to marry her," Becca said and Billy looked her in the eye and she took hold of his hand. "You need to save her because I know if she knew the truth then she would never be with him."
Her hand ran along his, trying to keep him calm. "He wiped her memories…took everything from her," Billy said. "And now she's out working in France and I can't get to her, but I can save you. I was nothing before you, Becca…you saved me…and I'm going to make it up to you from now until the day I die. I'm going to do that because you are everything to me."
"I know," Becca promised, sad smile on her face. "But your sister needs you too."
"He's not going to give her up," Billy said. "He's obsessed with her and I know it's not love, but I don't know what to do…how to get her away from him."
"You find a way," Becca said to him, squeezing his hand and then kissing his cheek. And she knew that, when push came to shove, she wouldn't let him save her, not over Victoria. Because she had seen him hurt too much. He would save Victoria over her. She would make him do that.
…
"Since when was Queen Maeve a lesbian?"
Victoria was sat in some quiet little café along the Seine with her work colleagues. It had been a long week and they had asked her if she fancied a drink before heading home. Homelander was due to visit her that night. It was the first she would have seen of him since the super-terrorist attack. He was busy with his Saving America campaign alongside going through the motions for the Dawn of the Seven movie, the script being finalised.
He had called Victoria, of course. He called her most nights, mainly to vent about how much he despised Stormfront. Victoria was pleased to hear that considering she had listened to some of her speeches and they seemed quite scary. She was advocating for action, claiming that 'people' were coming into her country and killing her people. She began to remind Victoria of a dictator and she didn't feel comfortable with it. Homelander, on the other hand, hated that she was gaining all of the attention.
"I didn't know that," Victoria said to Hector.
The two of them were stood by a tall table, the rest of their group also split into twos and threes and conversing, each one holding a glass of wine. There were representatives from civil society organisations from all across Europe. People had come from Germany, Spain, Portugal and Britain, to name but a few countries, to work on the Resolution. Hector was from the Spanish branch of Amnesty and Victoria had only emailed with him occasionally. Meeting him, he was quite something. He was tall, tanned with dark hair, and deep olive coloured eyes. His suits were well-fitted and his hair hung down his neck in soft waves.
"Come on," he said with a scoff. "You're dating the leader of the Seven, how did you not know that?"
"Because Maeve is a pretty private person," Victoria said.
"Privacy as a celebrity?" Hector asked from her. "I don't think that's possible."
"You have to work for it, but it's possible."
"So you have secrets with Homelander, huh?"
Victoria sipped on her white wine. "Now that would be telling."
"Come on, tell me what he's actually like. Tell me what it's like to date the world's most famous supe."
And Homelander was intrigued to hear her answer. He had arrived early into Paris after seeing Stormfront's latest internet adventures. She'd made him a laughing stock. He was a meme, being belittled constantly. He didn't want that and he hated it. And he'd gone to her and told her that she would never take over the Seven. He wanted Victoria as soon as their argument had finished and had left. She hadn't been in her apartment and he remembered her mentioning that she was getting a drink after work.
He'd gone to find her, but as soon as he did, he saw who she was with. The man was tall, at least a head taller than Victoria in her work heels. He was attractive, there was no denying that, dressed in a crisp navy suit with white shirt. But the main issue was the way he was looking at Victoria. Balling his hands into fists, Homelander didn't like it. He didn't like the idea that she was in another country and clearly happy talking to another man. He knew he sounded possessive. He sounded jealous. And that was ridiculous because he trusted his Victoria.
But that didn't explain why he simply stood in the alley behind the café, hidden from view, and watching her with his x-ray vision. She looked lovely, dressed in her long sleeved green dress with thick black tights. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and she'd had it cut so it only came down to past her shoulders.
"It can be exhausting," Victoria admitted to Hector, sipping on her wine and then placing it down. "I mean, the endless film premieres…magazine interviews…photoshoots…they're exhausting."
Homelander frowned.
"Oh, I can't even imagine," Hector said and Victoria chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.
"You wouldn't want to," she promised him. "And there are times when I despise having to fake a smile for the camera, but that's the life he lives. He's an icon…he's famous worldwide…and it's a part of his job and so if I have to fake a smile every now and then, well, I'll do it…because it's for him and he's worth it."
"You know that's the most sickly sweet thing I've ever heard," Hector said, a smile on his face and Victoria laughed, nodding her head.
"I know," she said to him, agreeing entirely. "But it's true. I love him that much and if it meant having to go to a film premiere every night and spend hours getting ready then I would because he…he's just everything I've ever wanted."
"No flaws?"
"Oh, now that would be telling too much," Victoria said, taking another gulp of wine and then checking her watch on her wrist. "But his flaws are for me to know and you never to find out, Hector."
"I bet another glass of wine might help?"
"I'd love to, but I've got to get going," Victoria said, taking the final gulp and finishing it off. "I told Homelander I'd be home for eight. We've got dinner plans."
"Well we did."
Victoria whirled around as soon as she heard the voice and noticed him walking towards her, a wide smile on his face that she couldn't help but return as he stood before her and she moved to wrap her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly as he took hold of her waist. It had been a week since they'd seen each other and clearly Victoria had missed him just as much as he had missed her.
"What're you doing here?" Victoria questioned, pulling back and keeping her hands on his shoulders.
"I got out of Vought early and remembered you said you were coming here so I figured I'd meet you," he told her and she smiled before quickly pecking him on the lips.
Hector stood there awkwardly, but Homelander didn't care. He could squirm for longer.
"Oh, Homelander…this is Hector," Victoria was the one to remember her manners and she turned to motion to the man in question, hand outstretched in his direction. "Hector works in the Spanish branch of the organisation and is out here for a month helping with the Resolution."
"That's great," Homelander said, smile wide and fake as his arm wrapped around Victoria's waist, keeping her close to him. She didn't seem to mind as her head went to rest on his shoulder and Homelander extended his free hand out towards Hector.
"Nice to meet you," Hector said, shaking his hand and Homelander's grip was slightly stronger than it had to be.
"You too, buddy," Homelander said to him. He could be polite for Victoria's sake. "How're you liking Paris?"
"Pretty wonderful," Hector responded and Victoria was grateful that Homelander was making small talk. Looking up to him, he saw her from the corner of his eye and watched her doting smile on her face. He had grown to recognise it. It was the one she wore whenever he got along with her friends. It was whenever she felt as though he was trying with the people who meant something to her.
"Yeah?" Homelander asked. "Well, I had plans with Vicky tonight…get to see the city a bit more, so I hope you don't mind if I steal her from you?"
"Course not," Hector said.
"What plans do we have?"
"That's for me to know, sweetheart," Homelander said. "But we need to get going if we're going to make it on time."
Victoria shrugged and agreed, looking completely at ease. "Sounds good," she said and then looked to Hector. "I'll see you on Monday, yeah?"
"Bright and early as always," Hector said and Victoria chuckled.
She embraced him goodbye quickly as Homelander gave him a wave goodbye. Offering Victoria his hand, she took hold of it and squeezed it inside of her own before they left the café together, Homelander waving to people and saying hi as they passed by and recognised him. Once they were outside in the fresh air, Victoria pulled on her mac coat and draped her bag onto her shoulder, taking hold of Homelander's hand once more after she had done that.
"So where are we going for dinner?" she asked him.
"Wait and see," he said. "But we are going to have to fly."
"Really?"
"Just for two minutes," he promised her. "Hold on."
Victoria did as he had asked, arms wrapping around him firmly and he picked her up. She closed her eyes, nose pressed against his neck and inhaling his familiar scent. He flew them through the air and she clung firmly onto him, eyes squeezed shut tightly. He was only in the air for two minutes, as he'd promised, before landing. Victoria slowly peeled her eyes open, holding onto him tightly still.
"Where are we?" Victoria asked from him and he set her down gently.
"The best view of the Eiffel Tower in all of Paris," he said to her and pointed into the distance.
Victoria dropped her bag to the floor and turned around, mouth gaping widely at the sight of it all light up, it's beacon shining over Paris. Moving to the stone railing, Victoria's hand sat on it and her eyes remained on the Tower, Homelander just watching her drink in the view, seeing her hair swaying in the breeze and her smile continuously widening.
"This is perfect," Victoria whispered.
"You see, most people want to eat in the Tower, but you can't appreciate it from there," he said to her, standing slightly behind her. "But here, we have the balcony of the restaurant to ourselves…and a seven course tasting menu."
"You did all of this?"
Well, he'd gotten Ashley to do it. But it was his idea. He had come up with it.
"Yeah," he said, not bothering with technicalities. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," she said, turning her head over her shoulder and looking to him. She stood on her toes and he bent down, meeting her and kissing her chastely. He moved his hand to her cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb along her cheekbone. She pulled back after a second and looked behind him to the table that was covered in a white table cloth, numerous knives and forks either side of a plate. A bottle of wine was sat in an ice bucket and there were small candles dotted on the table. It was pretty romantic, Victoria didn't deny that.
He led her over to it, pulling her chair out and pouring her a glass of wine. "Impeccable service," she commented in a joking tone as he sat down after pouring himself a glass.
"Well, I imagine you'll be leaving a review on TripAdvisor then," he chuckled to her.
"I think I might even stretch to a tip," she said, a flirtatious tone to her voice and his own lips picked up at that.
"I'll hold you to that," he promised her and she laughed, the noise tingling and a snort escaping her as he watched her look so carefree. "Anyway, I take it that work is going well?"
"Really well," Victoria said to him with a nod. She pulled her mac around her, feeling a slight breeze in the autumnal air. "I've managed to fine tune some things that needed fine tuning today so it was a really good day. How about you? I've been following everything to do with Compound V and I saw how it was all Stillwell's idea."
"And we had no idea," Homelander said to her, his tone almost mocking because he knew the truth. "But I suppose it doesn't surprise us. We knew what she was like."
"Yeah…but I didn't think she'd have that in her," Victoria said with a scoff and she took another sip of her drink before setting the wine glass down. "Do you think her baby might be a supe?"
"No idea," Homelander said nonchalantly. "Anyway, it is what it is, but what you said about Stormfront…I tried my best, but you must have seen her on TV. She's holding more and more rallies, plus people are saying that she should be the new face of the Seven."
Victoria resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Stormfront was constantly coming up in every conversation they had when he called. She didn't mind, but she just wished that they could change the topic quicker sometimes. She was fine talking about work with him, but it felt as though they were continuously having the same conversation over and over again with no resolution. And Stormfront didn't exactly seem like the kind of person Victoria wanted to be around. Her rhetoric was worrying. The hate she was stirring up scared Victoria more than she cared to admit.
"Listen, I think…I just don't think you want to be getting involved with her or what she stands for."
"But people love her. Her audience love her."
"And that's worrying because her message is so divisive," Victoria said to him and folded her arms over her chest. "She is talking continuously about Super-terrorists invading America…illegal immigrants coming into the country when most are actually asylum seekers and wanting refuge. It's a toxic message, John. She just throws out words like 'super villain snowflakes' and what does that mean? We don't judge people who come into our country. We shouldn't because it does nothing but promote hate. It's wrong…and her talking about doing something about it…how long will it be before something bad happens? How long before someone actually listens to her and thinks they've seen a supervillain and takes action? Because that terrifies me."
Listening to Victoria, he could see her point in what she was saying. He did understand that. He knew her message was divisive. But he wasn't bothered about her message. He was bothered because people were listening to her. They were listening to everything she was saying. He just wanted popularity. It was all he longed for.
"I get that," he said. "But she is still popular."
"And that will come crashing down eventually because, and I hope to God this happens, people will see through her and her constant barrage of hate," Victoria said. "And you know, you can disagree with her, right? You can make your own voice heard and use your platform to say that you disagree with her."
He shifted in his seat at that and Victoria continued watching him intently. She didn't want to tell him what to do, but she knew he was someone people listened to. He had the power to do things for good.
"I know," he simply said. "But let's not talk about her tonight. Tonight is about you and me."
"As you wish," Victoria said with a nod of her head and picked her glass up, letting it chink against his before the waiter came out to deliver their first course and they prepared for an evening of delicious wine and food.
…
"I'm still so full."
"You devoured everything on your plate, I'm not surprised."
"But it's morning, I shouldn't still be full," Victoria complained.
It had gone nine in the morning and they were still in bed, enjoying a lazy Saturday. Homelander had his hands behind his head as Victoria laid on her back, hands on her stomach. She was wearing a long sleeved nightshirt, hair fanned across her pillow. Her bedroom was cosy and quite small compared to the rest of the apartment. There was a mirrored wardrobe and a wooden chest of drawers. Her clothes were strewn across the floor, her makeup and lotions, deodorants and perfumes on top of the dresser.
There was a photo of her and Homelander on the bedside table alongside another one of her with Michelle and Daniella. The locket he had bought her was in front of them alongside her blue-strapped watch and her phone. She'd turned it off for the night, not wanting them to be interrupted.
"But I really wanted to go to the market this morning and buy a baguette…croissant…and I was even going to make dinner tonight."
"I can go and get it for you," he said to her.
She shook her head, moving to rest her head on his chest. "No, I like you right here," she said to him and his own lips picked up at hearing her say that. She closed her eyes again and nestle closer to him as he moved an arm around her shoulders.
"I like being right here too," he agreed with her on that one.
They had spent the previous night talking about everything and nothing. Victoria had asked him about Maeve and he had asked her when she would feel comfortable going to see Ryan to him. She'd told him that it would be the next time she came home. She wasn't going to keep putting it off because she knew that she had to meet him. She just worried how Becca would react and what it would mean for her and Homelander's relationship. And what if Ryan hated her? What if he couldn't stand her?
"You know…I heard from my mother."
Homelander's brow arched at that. He looked down to her, chin doubling with the motion. His eyes fell onto her face, making out the way her nose scrunched up. Her hand went to his bare chest, fingers tickling along his bare skin as his arm around her remained secure.
"She found out I was working for Amnesty at the UN and got to me that way…she…she tried to call, but I refused to pick up. And so she wrote to me," Victoria said to him as his fingers found a curl of her hair, playing with it gently. "She told me that my dad has cancer. He doesn't have long left."
"How does that make you feel?" he asked her.
She shrugged against him. "I don't know," she said. "I'm supposed to feel sad, aren't I? I'm supposed to want to just make amends…you know…let him die in peace thinking I forgive him or that we're fine…but I don't think I can do that, John. I don't think I can be the bigger person."
"You don't need to be the bigger person," he promised her, licking his lips and trying to think of the right thing to say that didn't sound too brash. "You are that anyway…you're better than your parents could ever be and you don't owe your dad anything. He doesn't deserve your forgiveness."
"And I don't want to forgive him," Victoria said and closed her eyes once more. "I don't want to forgive him for what he did to Billy…what Lenny ended up doing because of him…and because I know that he knew about Eddie. I knew that he knew and he did nothing."
"You don't need to go see him and go back to that dark place," he promised her and Victoria knew he was right. She didn't need to do it and she didn't want to. "We're moving forwards with our lives. You don't need to dwell on the past or feel that you have to make amends because you don't."
Victoria nodded and he kissed the top of her head softly. "I guess I can just see if I change my mind, but I doubt it," she said. "Anyway, I don't want to talk about them anymore. Can we talk about something else?"
"Whatever you want."
"Well, have you picked out a desk and bookcase for my office area in your apartment?" she asked, her chin moving to rest on his chest so that she could look him in the eye. The usual glimmer was back in his gaze. "Because I'm going to need somewhere when I come back and I was also thinking that we could decorate the bedroom too."
"You want to decorate the bedroom?"
"Well, you have blue walls downstairs, do we really need blue walls upstairs?" she questioned. "We could have a softer colour? What about a patterned wallpaper on the main wall? Make a feature out of it?"
He laughed at hearing her, shaking his head slowly. "You haven't even moved in and you're already thinking of decorating? You're moving pretty fast there, darling."
She laughed back, cheek going to his chest once more. "I just figure that we can put our own spin on things," was all she responded to him with. "I don't know if having a feature wall is moving too fast really."
"Well, we're moving at whatever pace is best for us," Homelander said to her.
"And this is good," Victoria said to him, fingers still tickling over his chest softly. "I mean, I love this…this is just what I want every weekend for the rest of my life to be like. If we can wake up together like this then I'd be content. I mean, I don't want to sound too much, but…I think this might be it."
"Only think, huh?" he checked with her.
"No, I know," she replied confidently. "I love you too much to get out now."
And then Homelander spoke before he could stop himself. He had been thinking it for quite some time, but he hadn't been certain if the timing was right. But it was. It was the perfect time and he wanted to do this. He wanted it and he also knew that it would be popular once the news was out. He would perhaps regain some of the popularity that had been stolen from him. But he wasn't going to do this for popularity. He was doing this because he really did love Victoria.
"Well…I guess I best make sure there's no way for you to get out," he said and she chuckled deeply.
"What? You're going to lock me in a basement."
"I could," he concurred on that one, still smiling. "Or you could just marry me?"
Victoria froze, her fingers going flat against his chest. She took a moment to process what he was saying and he realised that perhaps it hadn't been the most traditional ways of asking her. Maybe he should have gone with a grand gesture? Perhaps he should have done it at dinner last night? And he didn't even have a ring on him. He had thought about buying one, but he hadn't just yet.
Picking her head up, Victoria looked to him, her lips parted and eyes wide. "What…like…right now?"
He laughed at that, shaking his head. "Not right now because we don't exactly have anyone here to officiate it," he said. "But yes, in the future…I want you to marry me…so this is me asking. I know it's not romantic. It's not exactly the best setting…but I am asking."
Victoria shook her head. "I'd hate a public proposal," she said to him.
"I should have known that," he said, and he really should. She always told him how she enjoyed the private moments they had. "But you haven't exactly answered my question."
"Well, I mean it came out of nowhere," Victoria said to him. "And I wasn't sure if you were talking about now or in the future…like…if I said yes would it just freak you out if you meant sometime later on…plus-"
"-You're rambling," he said to her and climbed from the bed and Victoria sat up, watching him as he reached for his pants. She frowned.
"What? Where are you going?"
"To rectify the situation," he said to her and Victoria shook her head.
"I've ruined it, haven't I? Fuck, I can't believe I ruined it by talking continuously and questioning it because I'd say-"
He silenced her, moving back to the bed and kissing her firmly on the lips. She closed her eyes but had no time to deepen the kiss. Instead, he pulled away from her and brushed her hair behind her ear before finishing getting dressed. "Just stay here. Don't move."
"Where are you going? I am trying to tell you-"
"-I'll be back soon!" he yelled at her and she had no option to chase after him.
She was too slow and he was already gone, flying from the balcony. Standing in her plain grey nightshirt, Victoria looked out of the patio doors and into the sky, but she couldn't see him. What had she done? Had she actually scared him off? She was shocked, she wasn't going to lie. Yes, she'd thought about marriage. Of course she had thought about marriage, but she figured it would come later on, not so soon. But then she thought about what it mattered. She would say yes at any stage because she was certain that he was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Moving too fast or slow wasn't really a thing when she was certain of that.
Pacing her apartment, she hoped that he was coming back to the apartment. She didn't even bother dressing, she just walked around the kitchen, her feet slipping on the wooden floor. It was about forty minutes later when she heard him landing on the patio. Looking to the doors, she forgot everything she wanted to say when she saw him.
He was carrying a bouquet of red roses, a brown paper bag in his other hand. Moving into the apartment, Victoria watched him as he offered her the roses. She took them from him and looked down to them, inhaling their scent.
"So, if I'm setting things right and doing this properly where you have no doubt, I thought flowers were a good place to start."
Her lips arched at that. "A very good place."
"And then, because I know what you love, I went to the market stall and bought you a croissant," he said and she laughed at that as he placed the paper bag onto the coffee table. She looked down to it and he moved quickly, kneeling down in front of her. She looked back to him, still cradling the bouquet to her chest.
"Plus, I figured I need a ring," he said and his hand unclenched, a small box inside of it. Pulling the lid open, he looked to the green emerald on the golden band. Victoria looked to it as well. It looked like an antique and Victoria found that more charming than a diamond ring from an expensive jeweller. "So, Victoria Anderton, this is me asking you if you will marry me?"
She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't stop her head continuously nodding and her smile grew too. He stood up and placed the ring onto her finger as she spoke. "Yes," she confirmed with words. "Yes…yes…a thousand times yes…"
Homelander chuckled and Victoria dropped the flowers to the coffee table before wrapping her arms around him and kissing him firmly. He picked her up from the floor and spun her round, knowing that everything would be fine. He had Victoria, how could it not be?
…
He had gone to a bar and gotten drunk. He'd sat there and remembered his wife's words to him as she told him that she wasn't going with him. She wasn't going to escape. She was going to stay with her son because she put him first and she didn't think that things would work with Billy if she left with Ryan. And then there was the other reason.
"If Homelander lost both his girlfriend and his son then he'd never stop looking for them…he'd never stop and you need to save Victoria because I know what he's like. I know what he did to me. He raped me and if your sister finds out the truth then he's never going to let her go and he…he might do the same to her and she can't go through that…not after Eddie. She is your priority now. Get her to safety."
And then Billy had looked at the news the following morning when he was buying frozen peas for his face. He hadn't been able to stop himself from starting a fight. And he saw it. He saw the news. Homelander turns homemaker. He was engaged. He was engaged to Victoria. Butcher's hand had tightened around the bag of peas and he had wanted to destroy the entire newsstand.
His phone began ringing again and he saw that it was Hughie calling him again. He sighed and went to pick up the phone.
"Hughie," he greeted him, moving over to the crisp aisle. "You alright?"
"Yeah…just expecting to get your voicemail."
"Is that why you called five times?" Billy asked from him.
"No, I just thought you should know that Liberty, that Supe that Raynor was looking into, well…turns out it's Stormfront. Vought changed her name and have been moving her round all over the country. We figured she was the one who killed Raynor, but who knows. Annie's looking into it."
Billy struggled to keep moving, his ribs aching from the punching they'd had not just two hours ago. He put a bag of crisps into his basket and went down another aisle. "Well, as long as Starlight's on the job then that's sorted, yeah?"
"You know, I'm not mad," Hughie said to him and Billy wondered what was going on in that boy's head. "I would have done the same thing if I was you…gone after the woman I married…how is she? How is Becca?"
"Lovelier than the day I met her," Butcher said to him.
"I just…I get why you've gone…but you could have said goodbye," Hughie said and Butcher almost felt a sense of sadness for the kid. Picking up a soft toy, Butcher squeezed it and listed to its squeaker. "Where are you anyway?"
"Going off grid for a while," Butcher said to him. "I've got some stuff that needs sorting out and I just need time on my own to get it done."
Hughie considered what he was hearing from Billy and there was a moment of silence. "Is it about the news?"
"You've seen it too?"
"It's splashed across every news station. It's hard to miss it."
"Yeah," Billy simply said, imagining his sister in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle towards Homelander. He couldn't let that happen. He picked his basket back up after putting the soft toy into it for his boy. Heading out towards the checkouts, he kept talking. "I just need time to deal with stuff."
"Well, you don't need to deal with it alone. Annie was saying that there might be a supe who can help us."
"It's supes who got us into this mess."
"True, but not all of them…and Annie thinks she's found one who could help us…a supe who can alter memories."
Billy was quiet then. He had thought about it, but he didn't know how to go about it. He barely knew how to get to Victoria while she was out of the country. "You think that's possible?"
"Annie seems to think it is, but we need time to find them…they're off grid apparently and she's trying her best…but she believes you, Butcher. She believes everything you told us and she wants to help because she really does care about Victoria."
"Well, isn't she a smart egg," Billy couldn't help his tone. "Listen, Hughie, she might be able to help, but I still need some time to think and get things sorted. You're a good lad, never forget that."
He hung up before he could say anything else. Dropping his phone into his pocket, he knew where he was going to go and he knew that he had to devise a plan. Seeing his little sister on the cover of a magazine at the checkout, he saw her smiling face as she stood with Homelander, both of them looking completely and utterly in love. Billy was going to do everything in his power to put a halt to that.
…
A/N: So…big events coming up! Annie knows the truth, Billy's coming up with plans…and Stormfront is becoming a problem! As always, do let me know your thoughts and anything you want to see – would be great to know if people are still interested in this!