Homelander knew that there was something off with Victoria. Ever since he had told her that it had been her brother who had kidnapped her, she had been quieter than usual and almost reserved. He would often find her looking at the file he had given her on Billy that had been doctored by Vought to frame him for her kidnapping. It seemed to have worked on keeping him in the clear, but it had made Victoria even more paranoid than usual. He had tried to keep her distracted. He had made sure that he knew where she was at all times by tracking her phone. He monitored who she called or messaged. He knew that Victoria wouldn't be happy if she found out. She respected her privacy. But he was only looking out for her.

They were happy together and Homelander didn't want anything to ruin that. His numbers were through the roof with Victoria by his side and he could do no wrong. He was flying high. It was as good as things could get and he wanted to preserve that. There was also the fact that he truly did love Victoria. She was good for him and not just in the public eye. In private, he trusted her more than he had anyone ever before. Not Madelyn or Maeve had ever made him feel this way.

"You're quiet," Homelander observed.

They were laid in bed in her apartment. Homelander had insisted on coming to her after a night of patrols. He'd left Noir back at the Tower before heading to Victoria's apartment. She was already dressed in pyjamas, hair tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. She'd insisted that they be quiet as Michelle and Daniella were already in bed as they had an early start in the morning, teaching classes. She'd taken his hand and led him to her bedroom where he'd started to kiss her neck softly. She hadn't complained, but he knew she was holding back.

He'd managed to get her into her bed and smothered her noises with either a hand over her mouth or long kisses. He groaned against her neck as his hands held her hips and she threaded her fingers through his hair, his face tight against her skin. He sensed she hadn't finished, his fingers moving along her hipbone and towards her thighs, but she reached for his wrist and stopped him. He looked at her questioningly but she just kissed him on the lips and promised him she was okay tonight.

Rolling off of her, he watched her grab her robe and head into the bathroom. He moved his hands behind his head, duvet pooled around his hips and he waited for her to come back. She returned after a few minutes and closed the door behind her again. Her hair now hung loose around her face and her cheeks were flushed red. Moving to the bed, she tugged her robe off and slipped into the cover. Homelander moved an arm out to her and she nestled against his side, slipping a leg over his. Her skin was still warm and covered in a sheen of sweat, Homelander listening to her heart racing.

It was then when he made his comment. Victoria left her fingers on his chest, tracing idle patterns against his bare skin. He kissed her forehead before she spoke in a whisper, trying to keep her voice down and not wake Michelle or Daniella.

"Sorry," she said to him. "I just had a bad day…a student complained about a grade I'd given them…said that what I'd covered in class hadn't helped them for the assessment…and then I heard them say that it was unfair how I was protected simply because I was now on the cover of Vogue."

Homelander knew Victoria wanted to finish her PhD. He knew she was ambitious. She had aspirations and goals. He never wanted to stop her from pursuing that. But a part of him wondered if she needed any of this. She could easily live off the money Vought gave her. But then he also remembered who he was. He wouldn't give up Vought. He wouldn't give up the Seven. He couldn't.

"Did you tell your supervisor?" Homelander wondered, trying to think of something to say to make her feel better.

"Yeah," she said and he let his thumb move in circles against her shoulder. "He said that I had nothing to worry about and that this happens. I know it does…it just…it doesn't feel nice. I guess in an ideal world everyone would pass the class and just be happy with their grade."

"You'd have done nothing wrong, Vicky," he promised her. "You're great at what you do. There's always someone who wants to complain about something, but you just need to remember that you're not the one in the wrong here."

"I know," she said. "Sorry, it's just been a shitty day…well…few weeks…"

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Homelander checked with her. "I know that finding out about your brother was a big shock and a part of me wonders if I should have told you or if I should have kept it from you, but we're together…and we agreed to be honest, right?"

Homelander knew that was hypocritical. He expected total honest from Victoria, but he kept so much from her. She had no idea what he had done in the past and he intended to keep that from her. When he was with her, it was like he could be someone else entirely. He liked that. He liked that she didn't expect him to be anything when everyone else wanted something from him.

"I know," Victoria said. "And I am glad you told me about Billy," she promised him. "I just…there's things that I wish I could change and my family is one of them. I know that's ridiculous because I look at my life now and I am so happy. I have you…Michelle and Daniella…I'm doing a PhD and have enough money in the bank that means I don't need to work ever again."

"But you're still thinking of the past," Homelander said to her. And he knew what that was like. He remembered his own childhood and, no matter how much he tried to bury it, it still haunted him. "It's only natural, sweetheart."

"There was this one time he came home," Victoria began, her warm breath hitting his neck as she spoke, her hair tickling his skin and he moved his free hand to pick hers up that was against his chest. He threaded his fingers into hers and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Eddie…he'd been sneaking into my room for a while, but I hadn't dared say anything. Dad was still drinking and passing out. Lenny was gone. I'd never felt so alone and then Billy came back to visit us while he was on leave from the army."

Homelander listened to her intently as he looked down to her, hearing the emotion in her voice. This was painful for her to relive, but she was telling him. She wanted him to know because she trusted him. She trusted him more than anything.

"He found out what dad had been doing to me," Victoria said. "He saw the burn marks on my skin and he went crazy. He slammed him up against the wall and threatened him to stay away from me. Mum tried to get him off of him and I just stood there crying because I wanted to tell him the truth. I wanted to tell him what Eddie was doing to me."

Homelander's grip around her shoulders increased.

"But I didn't. I followed him out of the flat and followed him to his car. I begged him not to leave me. I told him that I would be good and I could look after myself…I just wanted to go with him…and he looked at me…he looked at me and he told me that he couldn't take me with him. He told me that if dad ever touched me again then he would come back and deal with it, but it wasn't dad I was scared of in the end. I wanted to tell him about Eddie, but I didn't know how to. I was sixteen…I…I didn't know how to say it out loud because I felt so ashamed."

"You felt ashamed?" Homelander wondered from her and saw tears falling down her cheeks.

He moved his hand from hers and reached his palm up, cupping her cheek and using his thumb to brush her tears away. His own eyes widened and he tried to blink back moisture that was building up there. He had no idea why he was on the verge of tears. He couldn't explain it. He'd never cried for anyone else before.

"I don't know why," Victoria said. "I know it wasn't my fault, but I was scared about what Billy would say. Why didn't I fight him? Why did I just let him come into my room? Why did I do as he asked?"

"He manipulated you, sweetheart," Homelander whispered.

"And I know that now, but at the time I didn't," Victoria said. "I couldn't tell Billy and I wanted to. I just tried to cling onto him, crying and begging him not to go…but he did. He drove away and I just stood outside and cried. The boys from the estate all laughed at me but I didn't care. I just couldn't move…and then Eddie found me out there…dragged me to his flat and demanded to know why I was crying and if I'd told anyone…"

"He's gone now, Vicky…he can't hurt you ever again," Homelander promised her. "And neither can your brother. He'll never get to you. I promise. I promise no one will ever hurt you again."

"But he wanted to," Victoria said. "I cried over him. I begged him to help me and he never did…and now I find out he kidnapped me and tried to use me to extort you. What did I do to him? I don't get it. Was I that unlovable? Was I worth nothing to him?"

"No," Homelander said, voice sterner than usual and he moved onto his side so that he was facing her, forehead pressed to hers and arm tightly wrapped around her naked body. He kept a hand on her cheek, stroking it gently as he sniffed and blinked back tears. "You are perfect. Do you understand me? Your family…they never deserved you. You were, are and always will be far too good for them. You are lovable. You are worth so much more than they could ever comprehend."

"It just brings it all back," she said. "Remembering what he did…what it was like…and I'm sorry because I know you didn't sign up for this-"

"-I signed up for you," Homelander interrupted. "I fell in love with you, Victoria. I want all of you and I never want you to think you can have to hide from me because I adore you. I love you."

"I love you too," Victoria said. "I don't know what I'd do without you now. I can't imagine not having you."

"You never have to," Homelander promised her and leaned in to kiss her tenderly. "I'm always going to be here."

…

Homelander had spent the night holding Victoria until she fell asleep. When the morning broke, she was the first one who was awake and he had felt her kissing his neck. He'd made love to her tenderly that morning. It had been slow and languid, but it had felt much deeper than anything he'd ever known. He'd held her tightly and she had clung onto him. She had gone to shower afterwards and Homelander had slipped into a white tee and a pair of joggers. He had no intention of going anywhere that morning and didn't fancy tugging his suit back on. Victoria had no classes and had the apartment to herself.

He went to the kitchen to make her a mug of tea while she showered. He placed the kettle on the stove and let the water boil when he heard a door open. Michelle ran into the apartment, satchel on her shoulder and long hair flying behind her. She was dressed in jeans and a green jumper, lanyard around her neck.

"Hey," she greeted him like it was normal he was in their kitchen and making tea.

Homelander would have preferred to be in his suit. He didn't entirely like being out of it in public, but Victoria was his exception.

"Good morning," Homelander greeted her. He always played nice when her friends were around, no matter how tedious he found it.

"I completely forgot to take my laptop charger," Michelle complained, searching on the sofa that was covered in textbooks and papers – no room for actual sitting taking place. "Here it is," she panted, picking it up and shoving it into her bag. She stood up tall and looked to Homelander. "Is Vicky alright?" she asked him. "I thought I heard her crying last night but I didn't want to bother you."

"Her brother," Homelander said and Michelle nodded in understanding. Victoria had told her friends about Billy's involvement in the kidnapping. "I know things are tough for her and I think it came to a head last night."

"She's seemed more reserved than normal," Michelle said to him. "Like…she's here, but it isn't the Victoria we usually have. She's quiet."

"I know," Homelander agreed with her on that part.

There was a moment of silence then and Homelander knew that he should say something else. He was good at small talk, but this felt a bit more personal than that. They weren't discussing the weather; they were discussing Victoria.

"She's happier when you're here," Michelle said. "And you know that we'd protect her…but with you…I think you make her feel safe. I think she needs that. She needs someone to look out for her."

"I always will," Homelander said. "But…I want to get her out of this hole. I want her to be happy. I just…I know that buying her gifts and throwing expensive things isn't going to make her happy."

"If you want to cheer her up then she appreciates more thoughtful gestures," Michelle said. "She's not a materialistic person. She never has been…so just…if you want to make her happy just do something she'll enjoy."

Homelander wanted to say how unhelpful that was, but he didn't. He just nodded his head thoughtfully as Michelle scurried away and headed back to class.

…

Thankfully, Homelander knew how to cheer Victoria up. He knew his girlfriend well. He knew what she liked and what she hated. What she hated was being the centre of attention. She preferred doing things in private with him as opposed to being in the public. The one time they'd gone to a restaurant together had ended with them hardly eating any of their meal because people kept asking him for selfies. After that, he'd flown them back to the roof of Vought Tower and they'd watched the moon in the evening sky as they ate cheesecake he'd asked to take away.

"I thought that you had to go to that premier tonight?"

Homelander had met Victoria in Vought Tower. He'd walked her to the library in the afternoon after she insisted that she should get some work done. He'd told her to come by the Tower that evening and she had, texting him when she was on way. He'd met her in the foyer, holding his hand out to her and leading her through the corridors.

"I told Madelyn I had other plans tonight," Homelander said to her. "And I do."

"Do you?" Victoria asked him. "Am I supposed to know what is going on?"

"Nope," he said with a pop of his lips as he nodded his head and smiled at the people they passed in the corridors.

"I don't think I've ever been this far into the building," Victoria commented. "What's down here?"

"Well, there's the gym…a swimming pool…plus a bowling alley."

Victoria's eyes widened as they moved along the shiny floors and she looked up to him. "I'm sorry, there's a bowling alley down here? Why did you neglect to tell me that?"

"Sorry, sweetheart, never had you down for a bowler," he responded.

"I'm a terrible bowler," she admitted. "I need the sides up otherwise the ball just ends up in the gutter. I still like it though. Let me guess, you're the best at bowling?"

Homelander chuckled. "Never tried it, but I imagine I might be okay."

"You know, it gets tiring having a boyfriend who is perfect at everything he does," Victoria said and he heard the teasing edge to her tone and he chuckled at her before lifting their hands up and moving his arm around her shoulders. "It's not entirely a level playing field."

"Physically, definitely not," he agreed with her. "But I think there's some things you do better than me…although I'll never admit what they are."

Victoria rolled her eyes as Homelander came to a double door. He let go of her hand and held it open for her, urging her to go in first. She did so, letting her eyes adjust to the dark of the room as she stepped inside and followed a dark corridor around the corner. The lights were dimmed and they were at the top of what she thought was a big lecture hall before she realised that it resembled more of a cinema. She looked to the screen and saw that it was paused on the opening credit of 'The Princess Diaries'. She looked to a row and saw that there was already soda cups and a bucket of popcorn there along with bags of sweets.

Standing behind her, Homelander looked to it and realised that there was no one else he would endure such a tedious activity with, especially considering he wasn't watching one of his own films. He suspected that might be a bit narcissistic.

"What is this?" Victoria wondered.

"Well, I know how much you love the cinema…but a regular theatre is out of the question unless we want to be the starring role," Homelander said. "And Vought has its own screening room so I figured we should make the most of it and so there is popcorn, all of the sweets you eat…I even had chocolate from England brought in considering you complain about American chocolate."

"Because it tastes terrible compared to ours," Victoria said and Homelander chuckled.

"But…I think the main point of this is to try and make you smile," he said and she turned to face him on the step she was on. Homelander moved one step down so that he was closer to her height. He lifted a gloved hand up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "And to distract you for a few hours…because all I want, more than anything, is for you to be happy."

Because when she was happy then he was happy. Things were the best they could be when they were both happy together.

"You did this for me?" Victoria checked.

"Victoria, don't you know by now that I would do anything for you?" Homelander asked from her.

She leaned forwards then, arms folding around his neck and her weight leaning against him as he caught her by the waist and she kissed him forcefully. He picked her up easy enough, hands going to her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist and then pulled back, her hands stroking along his neck and hair.

"You didn't need to," Victoria said to him. "And I'm sorry if I've been distant…shut off…"

"Don't apologise," Homelander urged her and he carried her down the aisle and towards the seats he'd set up, or more accurately, Ashley had set up. "Just talk to me. Don't shut me out."

"I never mean to," she said promised him.

"I know, sweetheart," he assured her.

"But this…you setting this up…it means a lot to me," she said and he wandered down the row of seats to the middle ones. "And I know how much you hate chick flicks."

"I figured I can put up with them because I know you love them," Homelander said and he managed to let her slip from his grip and sit down in a chair as he took the seat next to her. "And I happen to love you quite a lot."

Victoria leaned up to kiss him once more before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He'd lifted the armrest up, finding it to be more a hindrance than anything. Victoria leant against him, head by his shoulder as she tried to avoid the eagles from his shoulders and she picked up her soda, slurping on it. Raising a hand, Homelander called back to the projection room.

"Hit it, Daniel!" he demanded.

The film started playing and Victoria rested event more against him and he knew that he could pass a couple of hours just like this.

…

Victoria had left Evelyn at nursery and had done some paperwork for Vought that morning on one of their charities that they were working with on helping asylum seekers with a resettlement programme. It had felt good to get her brain back in gear and the morning had gone quickly. She hadn't spoken to Homelander about what had happened at the rally the other night. She knew that he wanted her. He had made that apparent and a part of her hadn't even been sure what had happened in the corridor. She had no idea how she had simply let him press her against the wall and pleasure her without pushing him away.

She hadn't asked him to do that. She hadn't truly wanted him to. A part of her had been scared if she had put up a fight against him. She knew she was on thin ice and she was trying to stay on his good side. But then when she'd felt his fingers on her skin, it had been so familiar. It had been exactly like she'd remembered it to be and that hadn't scared her. In fact, she couldn't even deny she'd enjoyed it. He had this hold over her. Despite everything, he still had his claws in her and she didn't know what to do.

"Ashley, have you seen Homelander?" Victoria wondered.

She had been walking around the Tower and looking for her husband. The school at Vought needed his signature for Ryan to go on some school trip to the Natural History museum. Victoria had been looking for him, no idea what his schedule was for the day. She bumped into Ashley just moving into the foyer, her assistant behind her and tablet glued to her hand.

"He's in the screening room," Ashley said to her. "He's going over candidates for the Seven and watching their training videos."

"Okay, thanks," Victoria said. "And is everything alright?"

"Well…there's been a lot of coverage over his upcoming trial," Ashley said. "You have spousal privilege and I doubt you'll be called to testify, but there's a lot of guesswork from the legal team about who might be called as a witness. I think it could be pretty ugly."

"And Daniella?" Victoria wondered.

She didn't dare raise her friend's name around Homelander. She knew it wouldn't go down well.

"She's still on the case," Ashley said. "And I…I know she was your friend at one time, but is there anything you can do to-"

"-No," Victoria said with a shake of her head. "She doesn't hold enough clout to make this all go away. She's only working on the case because she thinks it's the right thing to do and she think it might help me. I can't talk to her or persuade her otherwise. I can only say what you want me to say…be a good wife to my husband…stand by him."

Ashley looked to Victoria then, looking her in the eye and wondering if she felt beaten. Ashley knew that she had helped her before. She had given her a car to get away from New York. She had given Alex her pass so that he could get her out of the cells and take her away. She had tried her best when she could, but she knew that it was too risky now and clearly Victoria felt the same way.

"I wish things could've been different," was all Ashley said to her.

Victoria smiled sadly and nodded. "So do I," she replied. "Anyway, I'll go and find Homelander."

She headed towards the screening room and stepped into it. She moved round the corner and saw Homelander's blonde head sat in the middle of the room. The screen was playing a video of a red headed supe on a training course. She was wearing shorts and had legs that seemed to come up to her waist. Victoria moved down the aisle towards the row where Homelander was sat.

"John," Victoria called his name, surprised he hadn't heard her.

He turned to look at his wife and then called out. "Lewis, pause the tape," he demanded and the frame froze on the red head beaming at the camera. Victoria folded her arms over her chest.

"Ryan's class are going on a history trip and they need you to sign the permission slip," Victoria said. "I asked if I could, but I'm not his legal guardian."

"Despite the fact they know you're my wife?" Homelander questioned from her.

"Despite that," Victoria said to him and she headed down the seats and sank down in the chair next to Homelander. She handed him the paper and a pen and Homelander squiggled his name down where it asked him to sign. "Are you looking at candidates for the Seven?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Homelander replied. "I need to make sure it's right this time."

"She's pretty," Victoria said, unable to stop herself. Homelander handed her the pen and paper back and she folded it up and placed it into the pocket of the plum, long-sleeved dress she wore with white sneakers. Looking to the screen, Homelander simply shrugged.

"Firecracker," he said. "She seems to be polling well and we're lacking women on the Seven now that we've lost Maeve and Starlight."

"Makes sense, I guess," Victoria replied. "I assume you're checking that this one isn't a Nazi first, right?"

Homelander was about to snap at her before he noticed that there was a small smirk on her face. Scoffing, he rolled his eyes and his own lips arched and a low chuckle escaped from him as he moved his arms to rest on the armrests and sat back. "Due diligence will be given," Homelander confirmed. "Besides, it's a distraction…we get the Seven back together and maybe people might stop talking about the court case."

"You worried about that?" Victoria asked him.

"No," he said confidently. "I mean, it's not as if they can throw me in a cell, but I would prefer not to go through it."

"Hopefully it won't come to anything," Victoria said. She was worried what he would do if he was held accountable for his actions. "Anyway, I should leave you to look over this-"

"-You remember the last time we were here?" Homelander asked her, looking around the dimly lit space with the plush, black seats and the red carpet.

Victoria nodded once. "I never did make enough of this space," she agreed with him on that point. "It's like having your own personal cinema just downstairs. I never got to use the bowling alley either. Maybe I should ask Ryan if he wants a game at some point. I bet he'll beat me, but it would be good to get him out a bit more."

"Maybe I'll join you," Homelander said.

"Sounds good," Victoria agreed with him on that point.

There was a moment of silence between them as they both looked to the smiling redhead on screen. It was Homelander who spoke first.

"We should talk about the other night," he said to her. "I heard everything you said to Supersonic…well, Alex now he's not really a supe…and it made me realise that we can make this work. Things have been good between us and now that you realise we're together…I know it's been hard for you to accept, but you're coming round and I know you've always said it can never be how it was, but it can still be good. It still is good."

Victoria wondered if he truly believed that. She was acting. She was doing what she needed to do to try and keep her husband on side and keep him under control to some extent. She had been well-behaved. She had been the doting wife. But then a part of her began to wonder if she was always acting. There were times when it felt so easy to slip into their old routine and she cursed herself whenever she did.

"What I felt for Alex is nothing like what I feel for you," Victoria told him honestly on that point. "I just…I can't pretend that I don't care for him. I never wanted to. I never wanted any of that to happen. I just want him to leave us alone now. I want to focus on my family…but the other night…what happened in the corridor…it was a lot, John."

"You have no idea what it's like, Vicky," Homelander said to her. "To be so close to you and not touch you when I know what it's like…how you feel…how you taste…"

Victoria felt her cheeks redden and she tried not to feel too flustered.

"And I'd never touch you against your will," he said to her and she wondered if he had any notion of how hypocritical he was. "I know what your body craves and don't tell me that there's a reason why you never slept with Alex. It's because he wasn't me…because it's me you love."

"Maybe," she relented on that point, "but the other night was a lot, John. It felt overwhelming and it doesn't mean that I'm ready for us to go back to what we were…being intimate…sleeping together…"

Homelander's jaw tensed and Victoria could see that he was annoyed. Clearly, he thought that they were back on track in that department, but the truth was that Victoria didn't know if she could go back there. She didn't know if she could sleep with him again.

"But you let me feel you up in the middle of a corridor?" he asked her. "I don't remember hearing you complain as you orgasmed on my hand?"

"John," Victoria complained, "don't be so crude."

"Don't be so prude," he retorted back to her. "You can try and deny yourself pleasure, Victoria, but deep down we both know I'm the only one who can give you it. I'm a patient man and I can wait, trust me, but you love me…you told me you did and you know that we belong together."

"It's just a lot," Victoria said, not wanting him to get wound up. She moved her hand to reach for his on the armrest and she squeezed his fingers tightly. "I'm just saying that we've only started to get along and I don't want to rush back into anything. You know what it means to me…you know how long it took me to open up to you and let you in…if you love me, just give me time. I'm here. I'm with you. Just give me time," she pleaded from him and he looked to her. He'd sworn that he wouldn't be taken in by her doe eyes ever again, yet here he was. She had a hold over him and no matter what she'd done in the past or how she'd betrayed him, she still had him in the palm of her hand.

He nodded his head once and Victoria leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," she said to him.

"You…" he trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say. "It's always you," he offered her in the end and she kept quiet as he kissed the top of her head fondly.

"Do you need any help watching these videos?" Victoria wondered from her husband. "I've finished the work for the legal team this morning and Evie is at nursery until four."

"You can stay if you want," Homelander said. "Might be good to get your opinion."

He already had an idea of who would be joining the Seven, but his wife didn't need to know that. Besides, this was a way to keep her with him for the time being. He turned his hand over so that her fingers slipped inside of his and he ordered for the film to start playing again. Victoria looked to the screen as it started playing once again and she wondered just what Billy was doing at that moment in time and if Alex was with him.

...

A/N: So we are playing the waiting game until season 4...not long now! I had fun writing a flashback and might do a couple more until we get back to the show. Would love to know what you think!