Our first day back could be considered pretty boring by most standards. I went through the files and mail that Anthony had handed me upon arrival, Billy dealt with emails and voicemails. Nothing was too extreme, for the most part Congresswoman Neuman had kept the office running by keeping the chain of command the same, just without me or Billy in the loop. Simple enough. MM and Frenchie were unofficially official enough to contend with most issues, so they did.
Paperwork and requisitions went through Joseph and his group, Anthony manned the entrypoint and the building didn't go to shit without us.
We went out to lunch and when we came back we were ready to get back in the true swing of things, with an after lunch mini dessert break, when we heard the type of ruckus that only occurred when a supe showed up unannounced. One particular supe. A massive asshole of a supe who wore a cape and chemically raped me to the point that I almost fucking died, type of supe.
Billy looked like he wished he had the laser eyes that Ryan had been gifted with from birth at the cacophony coming from the direction of the front of the office. And honestly, there was a part of me that kind of wished that I hadn't been so damn insistent on them being light-handed with the Compound V in my own recovery. Super strength or flaming breath would come in real handy when faced with a fucktwat who caused the need for my recovery.
"Ah, Dr. Taylor," the blonde haired, crinkle eyed, grinning psychopathic superpowered fucker greeted me when I opened my office door to the noise of his adoring fans and found him standing just outside. "I heard you were back at work and couldn't help from wanting to come see that you were truly completely well again." He was holding a bouquet of- was that fucking cookies?! "Here, I had Ashley check to be sure that you didn't have any food allergies," he held out the cookie bundle. "She promised she did her due diligence, so I got you dessert." Fuck you, I wanted to say, but we had an avidly watching audience.
Forcing my lips to cooperate and arch into a semblance of a smile, I took the cookie arrangement from him, careful to not touch his glove covered hands. "Thank you, Homelander, how kind of you." Sick fuck, bringing a fucking gift to your victim. Jesus, the amount of shit wrong with you could fill a fucking entire goddamn book. "You probably have a strict schedule so-"
"No, I cleared my day," he announced and I wanted to be able to maim him so badly that I felt certain that it was telegraphed on my face, my thoughts had to be so loud that beings in space could hear them. "As the head of this very important office, your wellbeing is paramount, Dr. Taylor, Veronica, if I may?" I stared at him, wondering how it was possible for one body to hold so many fucking behavioral and mental issues. "If you'd step aside," his voice had lowered, and I felt my hackles raise automatically at the intimacy of it. "I won't have to continue this farce where the entire fucking building can watch."
"Please come in," I stepped back, feeling Billy's body head close to my back and the tension that had built throughout my interaction with Homelander start to untwist. Once inside, the door snapped shut behind him and I allowed the false smile to drop. "What the literal hell do you think you're doing here?"
"We all have parts to play," Homelander offered, moving further into the office and looking around with interest. I watched as his eyes landed on the spot where I'd nearly bled out and I nearly threw the fucking cookies at his head, but his shoulders drooped and I stopped myself. "I didn't know that the mix would have that effect." His tone was quiet again, less intimate, I wasn't even sure I was supposed to hear him.
"Might not have known it, but it did." Billy snapped, taking the cookies from me and sitting them on the desk so my hands were free. "Nearly killed her, right here." He pulled me behind the desks, and sat in his chair, pulling me to sit next to him. "If you came to apologize, we don't accept."
Homelander turned, and for a moment I thought he looked almost shocked that we were even in the room. "Apologize? For what?" The ego was firmly back in place, spine ramrod straight, tone condescending. "I told you not to be so quick to rush to decision making. You chose to rid yourself of my parasite," he was staring at me, to him Billy seemed invisible. "It nearly killed you, that was your choice, not mine."
"My choice," I stared up at him, listening to what he was saying through a filter of who he was, how he'd come to be who he was. "I made my choice after you chose to chemically rape me. After you chose to take away my choice in having your parasite injected into me and then, as if that wasn't nearly enough, you had me chemically modified with a contagion that was in the reject pile at the lab that created you." I shook my head. "Get out."
"Get out?" He was smirking and I could feel the tension that I'd felt at the door building in Billy with every moment that he lingered. "Now, Veronica, is that anyway to treat someone who brought you a welcome back gift?"
"Get the fuck out," I corrected, not raising my voice, not showing him a moment of fear or hesitation. "Now."
"Fine." He agreed, eyes finally sliding to Billy. "I'll go, but I do have to ask one last thing." I reached out and took Billy's hand in mine, linking our fingers to keep him calm. "How does it feel to know that even if you decide you want kids, you can't have them with her?"
I'm not entirely sure how I managed to keep Billy from attacking him. Perhaps it was because the question wasn't one that triggered him, not like one Homelander might have landed had he physically raped me like he had Becca. Billy wasn't interested in having kids, I knew that, he knew that, hell I think even Homelander knew it. I also know, and I think that the caped Asshole was banking on it, that when you're definitely NOT going to be able to have something that's when you REALLY want it.
He left, more loud announcements, more confirmations of how happy he was to see the 'fearless' head of the Office of Supe Affairs in her rightful place, more vomit worthy bullshit and then he was gone.
Billy was a ball of tension that I feared would take me days to unwind, but then another knock came to the door and in walked Hughie and for a moment I saw what my report mentioned. Hughie and Lennie, the way Billy connected the two of them, and even after how Billy had tortured the younger man with Annie's former superhero boyfriend, they still had that sibling-like relationship.
I was typing up the rest of the week's schedule, thinking that getting back in the true swing of things would do a body good, so their banter didn't fully register until Billy's hand touched the back of my neck. Looking up at his smiling, dimpled face I knew I missed something I was expected to catch.
"I was telling Hughie that I think we should have a party at the house," I raised an eyebrow. Billy wasn't the most social of creatures. "Our new house, Ronnie, since the boys helped get it safe and orderly, why not?"
"Mom and Dad should be included," I reminded him, and his smile grew, now that my parents had managed to get their matching sticks removed from their asses they were much more fun to hang out with. "When?"
When was two weekends out, so we could plan and get enough food and everyone could be sure to be able to come. Hughie made Billy promise that he WOULDN'T invite Soldier Boy for shits and giggles and I swore that I'd make him keep it. When the smiling boy left, I turned to the love of my life and asked the one question that popped to mind.
"What the hell got into you?"
He pulled my chair closer to his, and leaned forward so our foreheads could touch. "I love you. I love our house and our new life." I nodded, smiling as he rubbed his nose against mine. "I wanna share it with them, our people."
"Our family?" He smiled and I felt my heart catch. "What about Terror?" His grin grew and I added in his aunt. Then pushing my luck a little further, I asked for something that I knew might be a bridge too far, but it was something I wanted. "Can I meet Ryan?"