Victoria knew that her husband was up to something. She could sense it. She was sat on the other end of the sofa to him, waiting for Maria Menounos to start the talk show. Homelander looked at ease, sat with an arm over the sofa, hand dangerously close to resting on her shoulder. He had his legs spread and an easy smile on his face as his gaze flickered around the studio. Victoria remained perched on the edge of the sofa, legs crossed and hands clasped on her kneecaps. She caught Daniella's eye and her friend urged for her to relax, mimicking her taking in deep breaths and letting them out. Victoria copied her and forced herself to nod in her friend's direction, silently assuring her that she was fine.
"Right, are we both ready?" Maria suddenly asked from the two of them. She was sat in her chair, her cards in her lap and wearing a sleeveless white shirt and dog tooth patterned trousers. She also had her legs crossed and leaned forwards to pick up her glass of water. Homelander threw a charming smile in her direction.
"All ready," he confirmed for her.
"I'm good," Victoria said.
Homelander was doing his best no to look at his wife. He knew that she was on edge. He could sense it. He tried not to be amused, but he was finding it difficult. A part of him wanted to revel in the feeling of glee, but he knew that he had to keep it in for the time being. Victoria also ignored him as best as she could, not wanting to make eye contact with him and let him know how anxious she was feeling. He didn't deserve to know that she was worried. She exhaled a sharp breath and waited with bated breath for it all to begin.
The countdown started and Victoria knew there was no backing out now. Whatever Homelander had up his sleeve, she was about to see. She listened as Maria told her audience what was coming up on the show, beaming into the camera and speaking fluently with authority. And then the attention turned to her first segment.
"But first of all, I can't believe I'm saying this," Maria confessed with a hand to her chest. "But I am joined not only by Homelander, but by Dr Victoria Anderton. Now, I am sure you are all aware of the public scrutiny surrounding the two who were once labelled America's Golden Couple…rumours of divorce continue to circle the internet. Most of us, I'm sure, will be devastated if that turns out to be true because the two of you seem so perfect together."
Victoria caught Daniella's eye. They had spent all of the interviews at least mentioning that Homelander and Victoria's marriage was out of bounds. What they hadn't had to do, as of yet, was discuss it in an interview with Homelander. Victoria wasn't sure she wanted to answer the question and a part of her felt like she always did whenever she conducted interviews with her husband. She deferred to him. She let him take the lead.
"Victoria…Homelander…just what is going on?" Maria wondered, looking between the two of them.
"Well, Maria, I don't think it's a secret that we're going throw a rough patch. My wife has different ideals to what I do and it's caused us some tension in our marriage. We still love each other, though, and I am confident that we can work through it. We have a family together."
"And you, Victoria?" Maria wondered. "Do you think that you can work it out?"
"You know, I've always told interviewers that our marriage was private and that we were working on things behind closed doors. I guess it's not exactly a secret that I don't enjoy the limelight. In fact, I would much prefer not to be doing any of this, but I am doing it because I need to at least try to use my voice for good," Victoria said and Homelander laughed at her then, turning his gaze to look her in the eye, brow arching. He wagged his finger in her direction.
"You know, you'd be an excellent politician," he said to his wife. "You're always deflecting questions."
"I'm deflecting because I am not here to talk about our marriage," Victoria said, voice slightly curter than she had intended. Daniella caught her eye and pushed a hand towards the ground, urging for her to calm down and not get angry. Victoria tried to follow her advice, but she always found it infuriatingly difficult to be calm when her husband was around. "I am here to talk about how martial law and placing supes as enforcers of such law is not necessary."
"My wife, God bless her heart," Homelander said and placed a hand to his chest, "she's always been on the side of peace. She's always thought that words were better than actions, but that's not what we need right now. We need stability. We have had Singer send a team to kill Victoria Neuman. We have protests…riots…those things are not quelled by fancy words from behind a lectern."
"Nor are they quelled from invoking martial law and rounding up people with dissenting opinions and forcing them into jails."
"Everyone who we arrest has been arrested for breaking the law."
"Which law?" Victoria questioned. "Martial law? Laws that you are invoking in a particular way because it benefits your agenda to quell opposing voices?"
"Sweetheart, we are not trying to do that. You're still on television, aren't you?" he said to her and Victoria rolled her eyes at him. "Listen, am I saying that this is ideal?" Homelander asked and he turned his attention back to Maria. "Of course, this isn't ideal, but under our guidance…under our leadership…we can get America back. We can get our country back to the great nation that it once was."
"And what does that look like?" Victoria demanded. "Does it mean humans answering to supes? Does it mean equal rights for everyone?"
"The fact of the matter is that not everyone should have equal rights," Homelander said, attention returning back to his wife and she angled her body towards him, knuckles turning white as she clung onto her kneecaps. "There are people who shouldn't be given equal rights and society recognises that. It's the only way to keep people safe…our children….we need to do what we can to protect them from the warped ideologies of Starlighters."
"And what ideology is that?"
"The ideology that supes should be nowhere near power. You know what Starlight did to Victoria Neuman. She was hired to assassinate her with that ridiculous crew. She went on television and spoke out against me and Vought, but she was no better than Singer and you know that."
The issue was that Victoria did know that Annie and the rest of The Boys had been tasked with killing Victoria Neuman. She was aware that there was evidence against them and she could hardly deny that. Her and Daniella had spent hours trying to think of ways to clear all of their names, but they were struggling because they didn't exactly have any evidence. Victoria closed her eyes for a brief moment and inhaled a sharp breath. Homelander could see that she was rattled and he knew it was going to feel so sweet when he revealed the information live on air. He'd have his wife and daughter home by the end of the night, he knew it.
"There is evidence that suggests Annie and the others were hired by Robert Singer to kill Victoria Neuman, yes," Victoria relented. "But there is no evidence that it was them who did kill her."
Homelander snorted. "Then who could it have been?" he asked her and she knew that he knew. She also knew that he knew she was never going to turn her brother in. "Look, sweetheart, I know that she's your friend. I know that she's been there for you, but the fact is that she isn't a good person and that's been proven. She's a dangerous criminal who is still at large…and you know that, don't you?"
Victoria frowned and tugged on the skirt to her dress. She adjusted it on her thighs and shrugged. "I would've assumed I'd have seen it on the news if she had been caught."
Homelander chuckled once more, shaking his head. "No, that's not it," he said. "I didn't want to do this on air, Vicky, but the public deserve to know the truth. They deserve to know that you met with her just the other night. You were picked up on camera in the car with her."
Maria looked aghast at that, almost like she wasn't sure where this was going to go. Victoria wasn't sure where it was going to go either.
"You were with Starlight?" Maria checked and Victoria suspected the host felt like she'd lost control over the interview. Victoria watched her husband, trying to guess his next move. She wondered just what he was doing and what he was getting out of this.
"Now, I suspect that you were with her because she'd threatened you and I do understand that," Homelander assured her. "You're not a supe. You've been threatened before by people…so many people who have tried to hurt you. No one would blame you if that was why you were with her."
Victoria saw it clear as day then. This was his plan. He wanted her to nod and agree with him like a good little wife. If she didn't then she knew how it would look. She would look like a traitor. She would look like she had aided and abetted a criminal.
"And if I wasn't?" Victoria challenged him and Homelander's smile faltered for a moment.
"Well, we both know that you would face the full force of the law," he warned her and Victoria wondered if he was being serious. Would he really let them arrest her and prosecute her? Would he really throw her into a jail cell? But then she realised that this was what he wanted. He wanted her to think that he might do that and she'd come crawling back. He'd trap her. He'd have her right where he wanted her.
But she wasn't going to do this. She wasn't going to let him call the shots and have her running scared. He wanted to throw her in a cell? Fine. She was going to call his bluff. She was going to fight her way out of this.
"It's true, I met with Starlight," Victoria admitted, turning to look at Maria who had tossed her cards off to the side, knowing that the interview had gone in a different direction to how she thought it might go.
"And you know she's a wanted criminal?" Maria checked.
"We didn't arrange to meet," Victoria said. "I was on the way home and she asked to talk. I agreed to talk with her because she was my friend. At one time, she was my only friend," she said and Daniella winced from behind the camera at hearing her say that, even though it was true. "I met Annie when she was fresh faced and joining The Seven. She…when I gave birth to Evie, she was always there for me. She helped me shower. She helped me get around. She held me when I cried because I was so overwhelmed. She was more than a friend at times. She was family. I loved her like a sister," Victoria confessed to Maria and Homelander's jaw tensed. "When she left Vought, I was distraught, but I knew she'd made the right decision. She had to leave because she saw the corruption taking place. She saw this before I did…and I know that being asked to murder Victoria Neuman is not a good look for her. It paints her and the rest of her team as traitors to the country, but she came to me that night and she told me that it wasn't her. She told me that and I believe her."
"Why would you believe her?" Maria questioned.
"Yes, sweetheart, why?" Homelander asked through gritted teeth.
"Because I love her like my own family and I'd like to think she wouldn't lie to me. She knows how it looks, but if she didn't do this then I believe her. Should I have called the police on her? I guess you could say that I should have considering she's on the run…but when someone you love…someone you care about…they come to you out of desperation…begging you to trust them and believe them…would you turn them in?"
There was silence then and Victoria knew that they didn't have much time.
"And if I am going to be arrested for seeing her then so be it, but I'd like to think anyone else in my position might've done the same thing," Victoria said. "Whether it's your mother…father…sister or brother…friend…niece…uncle…whatever. If someone comes to you who you trust and love implicitly, then you wouldn't want to see them hurt."
"I suppose not," Maria confessed.
"That still doesn't make what you did right. You should've called the police," Homelander said to her.
"I should've, but I didn't," Victoria said. She looked to Maria once more. "You asked us if we can salvage our marriage earlier."
"I did," Maria said.
"And the answer is no," Victoria said decisively. "We can't salvage our marriage because we're too far gone. Too much has happened for us to go back to what we were. Our marriage is over and I didn't want to announce it publicly, but my husband seems to think we can work through our differences, but we can't. So long as he keeps going with this power trip then there's nothing to work on. We're separating. We're divorcing. And that's that."
She could almost smell the anger radiating from her husband. He was trying to cover it with a forced smile, but the curve of his lips were sinister and Victoria knew that she'd gone too far. She didn't care though. He wanted to play games then she could play games. She wasn't going to let him get away with this. She moved to her feet and unclipped her microphone from the top of her dress. She walked off without another word, handing the mic to the runner who was chasing after her. Maria tried to wrap the interview up and Victoria knew it was only a matter of time before her husband chased after her.
"Jesus Christ, Vic," Daniella muttered as the two women headed back down the corridors towards the dressing room. "He has evidence of you meeting with Starlight. Do you know what that could mean?"
"He could have me arrested," Victoria said with a nod of her head. "I know that."
"Why didn't you say that she'd held you against your will? Or threatened your family? That would've given you a mitigating circumstance. We might've been able to fight that."
"I'm not lying," Victoria said with a firm shake of her head. "I'm not going to lie about Annie and get her into even more trouble."
"But you've probably gotten yourself into trouble," Daniella said, pushing the door to the dressing room open. The two of them walked into it and closed the door behind them. Victoria grabbed her opened bottle of water and took a long swig. "This was the curveball we were worried about. He's made it look like you're cavorting with the enemy."
"You really think he's going to have me arrested?" Victoria questioned and Daniella pulled her phone out, looking at the initial reaction and trying to multi-task. She had to admit that was pretty difficult, but she was going to do her best considering she needed to get on top of this. "This was his plan. He's trying to blackmail me into coming home. He wants me to go against Annie, say she threatened me, because he knows that if I told the truth then he'd have to arrest me. He was counting on me to be scared of that, but I'm not. I'm not scared of it because he won't do it. He's bluffing."
"And you really want to take that chance?" Daniella asked.
"It's either that or I go back to him and that's not happening," Victoria said.
It was at that moment when the door slammed open and he stormed in. He held a finger in her direction and she saw that his jaw was tensed, teeth ground together and face contorted with anger. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demanded from his wife. "You think that this is a fucking game? It's not. You sit there and you tell the world we're getting divorced. We're not, Vicky. We're not getting divorced and I'm not letting you go."
"Dani, can you give us a moment?" Victoria asked from her friend who just looked at her cautiously. Victoria nodded, silently assuring her that she'd be fine. Her friend left the dressing room and closed the door behind her. Victoria finished putting the lid back on her water and cocked her head at her husband. "Are you finished having your petulant meltdown?"
"You…the fucking audacity of you," Homelander wagged his finger at her. "You think that you're going to get away with this? You're not, Victoria. You're done. You're finished. Either get your ass back on that stage and retract what you said or you're leaving here in a cop car. Make your mind up."
"Sit down."
Homelander blinked profusely then at hearing her, hands going to his hips. "Excuse me?" he demanded from her.
"I said sit down," Victoria reiterated and she motioned to the sofa.
Homelander chuckled at her, teeth bared and eyes now glimmering with amusement. "You think you call the shots here?" he demanded from her. "Seriously?"
"Sit the fuck down, John," she growled lowly this time and Homelander humoured her, holding his hands up in mock fear and then perching in the middle of the sofa. Victoria folded her arms over her chest and stood opposite him, the coffee table between them. She continued to watch him, trying to weigh up her best plan of action.
"This was your plan, wasn't it?" Victoria checked with her husband. "Your grand plan to get me back was to corner me on national television with that information. You thought that I'd relent. You thought that I'd jump at the chance to save my own skin and throw Annie under the bus…and then I'd be indebted to you…it would be something that you would use against me. I'd owe you because you'd keep me out of a jail cell."
"You'd come home and I'd protect you because that's all I fucking do, Victoria. I protect you. I gave you the get out of jail free card out there. I laid it on a platter for you and you didn't take it," he said to her. "And that's why I'm going to give you one last chance. You can make this right and you can come home."
But she shook her head. "I'm not doing that," she replied.
"Did you not hear the part where we can have you arrested?" Homelander checked with her.
"Then do it," Victoria said and she sat down on the armchair across from him. Leaning back, she folded one leg over the other and rested her hands on the arms of the chair. "I'll wait here and you can have someone arrest me. You'll need to have Natalie bring Evie back to the Tower."
Homelander shook his head once. "You're really choosing this?" he demanded from her. "You're choosing to be a martyr instead of a mother?"
"You put me in this predicament."
"You put yourself in it by meeting Starlight and keeping it quiet," Homelander retorted.
"Because we both know she's innocent," Victoria said. "And if you want to take Evie's mother from her then that's on you, John."
"Don't you dare turn this round onto me."
"But it all comes back to you," Victoria reminded her husband. "You chose this path over your family and that's why we're here. You can't have everything you want. I gave you the choice numerous times. I told you not to ruin us, but you did. You ruined us and now you're trying to blame me when I gave you countless chances before. But no more. There's no more chances and we're done. So go ahead and throw me in jail. Do it."
Homelander's jaw tensed again, his face contorting from anger. "You'd really rather go to jail than come home?" he tested her.
"I was home," Victoria reminded her husband. "You had me home. You had me, Evie and Ryan. You lost us all because you crossed a line and so I'm not coming back."
Homelander stood up once more and he looked down to his wife, pointing at her again. "This isn't over," he warned her. "You think that it might be, but it's not. You will come back to me. You will be mine."
"Keep telling yourself that," Victoria said and he stormed out without another word. She waited until the door had closed before she let the deep breath she'd been holding in come out.
…
Homelander missed the days when his wife would cling to him when they did television interviews. Instead, she'd just embarrassed him on national television. She'd told the entire country that they were going to get a divorce. He'd gone back to his penthouse that was far too empty for his liking. He'd turned the television on and looked at the news. The interview was all anyone was talking about, but the issue was that his wife was getting more favourable coverage than he could've ever imagined she would. He didn't know what to do about her, not really.
He could have her arrested. Maybe a night in a jail cell might teach her that she wasn't invincible from him. But then he looked at the picture of the two of them on their wedding day that sat on the sideboard and he shook his head. He couldn't do it. He thought that he could, but he couldn't. His wife had called his bluff effectively, he'd give her that.
"Sir, the DA's office are asking if we should go ahead with prosecution."
Homelander hadn't even heard the door to the penthouse open, but Firecracker was already stood there, waiting for him to reply to her. He was just stood holding the photo in his fingertips. He brushed his thumb over his wife's smiling face.
"They're saying that they have enough evidence to link her to aiding and abetting Starlight and Hugh Campbell," Firecracker continued and Homelander suspected that she would like nothing more than to see Victoria rot in a jail cell. "We have the CCTV footage and then she's just gone on national TV and confessed to it herself. They think that she could get five to ten if successful and we both know it would be successful."
Homelander closed his eyes firmly. "Make the footage disappear," he simply said and Firecracker watched the back of him, hands on hips and a disappointed look on her face.
"But, sir, she still confessed-"
"-I know she did, but Starlight didn't divulge anything useful. Victoria didn't help her escape after their talk…prosecuting her would be a waste of resources. Besides, it would just make me look bitter towards her considering she just said she wanted a divorce," Homelander said, almost choking on the word. He was never going to give her a divorce and the sooner she got that into her head then the better it would be for all of them. "So tell the DA to drop it. This goes away."
"You're sure, sir?" Firecracker asked and Homelander set the photo frame down on the sideboard once more and he turned to meet her eye. "I know that this must be difficult for you. She just embarrassed you on national TV. She doesn't deserve your leniency. She doesn't deserve you."
"Maybe she doesn't, but that doesn't mean that it changes things," Homelander said and Firecracker knew what he meant by things. It didn't change the fact that he still loved her and always would.
…
"So that was the DA's office," Daniella informed Victoria.
They'd gone back to the hotel and Victoria was waiting anxiously for any news.
"The footage of you meeting Starlight has gone missing and they're saying that they have a lack of evidence to charge you. It's a miracle considering you admitted to millions of people that you met with her."
"I met with her, but I didn't help her escape. I just didn't call the police," Victoria said. "And I told you that he was bluffing. John thought that I'd cave, but I'm done caving against him and he knows it now. I'm not going home and he's going to get used to it eventually."
"You think so?" Daniella checked. "Because I'm not entirely sure that's ever going to happen. He is so obsessed with you that it's scary."
"I can handle him," Victoria assured her friend. "Did I not just prove tonight that I can handle him?"
"Yeah, but for how longer?" Daniella asked. "Men like him aren't rational and I just worry about how much longer this can go on for. He's never going to let you go and you're never going to be able to escape him…not completely…we can't mess this up, Vic. If we're going to do this then we can't mess it up."
"And I'm not going to," Victoria promised her.
…
It had been a week since Victoria and Homelander's showdown and in that time, they'd had minimum contact. Victoria was in the process of buying a house in Manhattan. The townhouse was immaculate. It was three storeys tall with a new kitchen, a large master bath and four bedrooms. The master bedroom had its own bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe. The carpets were all plush beige and the walls all neutral creams. Victoria had been fortunate that it had been vacant and the legal process of buying it sped up considering she was a cash buyer. And so she was moving in. Natalie was going to live with her as a full time nanny and a bedroom for Ryan when he eventually came home.
Homelander had found out about the house considering that they had a joint bank account. She'd taken money out of it, but it had hardly dented the amount in there. The pair of them hardly looked at it considering that Vought just paid them for any publicity they did. Homelander had insisted on sharing his assets with her when they'd gotten married. His wife was many things, but he knew she wasn't a golddigger.
He'd gone to the house on the Saturday morning and found the door unlocked. Stepping inside, he saw that there were boxes everywhere in the hallway. There was furniture covered in plastic sheets that she had clearly just bought as well. The hallways had herringbone wooden floor and the staircase snaked around in the middle of it, four rooms leading from it. He followed noises upstairs and climbed the wooden staircase to the top floor. He found Victoria there, carrying a large cardboard box into her bedroom.
"Need a hand?"
She shrieked in surprise and dropped the box in front of her, clothes spilling out of it. She pressed a hand to her chest and turned around to face her husband.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded from him.
"Figured I'd come and see what a sixty-million-dollar townhouse looks like," Homelander said. "You really didn't spare any expense here, did you? I guess being married to me really has gotten you accustomed to the finer things in life."
"You checked the bank account?"
"Someone checked it for me," Homelander said. "I could've blocked the sale if I wanted to, but I figured Evie would be better growing up somewhere like this instead of a hotel room…just until you give up this vendetta anyway."
"It's not me with a vendetta," Victoria reminded her husband and she bent down to pick the box back up. "And you can't just drop over her uninvited."
"Where's Evie?" Homelander asked, ignoring her complaint and moving to her. He took the box from her without even thinking. She let him, watching him carry it into the bedroom. "Where do you want it?" he questioned her.
"In the wardrobe," Victoria said and he carried it there for her, placing it on the floor. "And Evie is out with Natalie. I figured it would give me time to try and unpack as much as I can."
Homelander stood in the doorway of the closet. Her bedroom had patio doors leading onto a private small balcony. She had a king-size bed with two bedside tables either side of it. The bed was unmade, the duvet airing and bed sheets waiting to be placed onto it.
"I wanted to see her," Homelander said.
"I can bring her to the Tower tomorrow," Victoria said, well aware that they were going to have to co-parent. "And Ryan?"
"He'll come home soon."
But neither of them were entirely sure of that.
"Okay," was all she said. "Well, if that's everything then I need to crack on with unpacking."
"You know that you could thank me," he said and Victoria knew that he wasn't going to go without some kind of conversation or confrontation. Victoria wasn't entirely sure which one was going to be worse. She chuckled and he watched her roll the sleeves to her sweatshirt up. She moved to the bed and sat on it, legs crossed beneath her and she tucked her hair behind her ears.
"You want me to thank you for not having me arrested?" she checked with her husband.
"It's the least you could do," he retorted with a shrug of his shoulders and he watched how she unconsciously scratched at the scars on her arms. He went to sit down next to her on the edge of the bed. "I mean, you could be in a prison instead of a fancy townhouse right now."
"I could be, but I'm not," Victoria said. "And I'm not going to go round in circles debating this anymore…talking about how our marriage is ruined and who is at fault. I'm tired of all of that. All I want to do now is try and find a way to help Annie and the others."
"And you think that can happen? You can keep going against me, but it's not going to achieve anything," he assured her. "Besides, if you want the truth to come out then you know that your brother is going to have to be caught."
Victoria nervously tucked her hair behind her ears and she peered up at her husband and he saw that there was some anxiety there. He felt his own posture relax for a second and pity for her took hold of him. She played with the hem of the short skirt she wore over her thick tights. "Has there been any news on Billy?" she dared to ask.
He shook his head tightly. "And you've not heard from him?"
"I'm not sure I'll hear from him ever again," Victoria confessed. "He…we said things…he said things that I don't think we can move on from."
Homelander scoffed. "You've said that before," he reminded her.
"I know, but I think this time it's true," Victoria confessed to him and she wondered just why she was finding it so easy to talk to him and spill her guts. She hated that he had this ability to make her long for his comfort. She didn't know how to stop it and a part of her didn't want to stop it either. "He resents me for ever loving you and that all came out. I don't think he's ever going to forgive me for that. His hatred for you is probably stronger than his love for me now."
Homelander wasn't entirely certain what he should say to her on that point. He knew that William despised him and he knew precisely why. He also knew that William wasn't a threat to him and he knew that he could take him on without any issue. He wasn't scared of him and he would kill him if he had to. A part of him would miss him though. He really had been one of the only humans to stand up to Homelander with no fear. Between him and his sister, the Butcher family really had been a pain in Homelander's ass.
"He doesn't understand you," Homelander said to his wife. "He can't understand what we have."
"Yeah, he's not the only one," Victoria said with a dark chuckle. "Things are messed up and we both know that."
"They don't need to be," he said to her.
"Wouldn't that be easier?" Victoria snorted and she flopped onto her back. Homelander peered down at her as she stretched her legs out and laced her hands together on her stomach. "You know, I go to bed every night and I think about how we got here. I never thought that I'd be in my thirties with a kid…a step-mom…and with my face plastered over every news station and online outlet."
"What did you think might happen?" Homelander wondered and he laid down next to her and she didn't bother to stop him. Laying at an awkward angle on the bed, his feet dangled over the end of it and he copied her movements, fingers laced on his stomach. He turned his head to the side, cheek pressed to the mattress as he watched her stare at the ceiling. "Where did you think you would be?"
"I always thought that I'd get my PhD and maybe try to get back into the UN. A part of me wanted to go and live back in Paris. I loved it there…but then when I met you…I don't know…I figured that living in New York wouldn't be the worst," she said.
"And us?" Homelander wondered. "Where did you think we'd be?"
"At the start?" Victoria questioned. "I mean, when we first thought that you couldn't have children and before we knew about Ryan, I always thought that maybe we'd end up married…travel more than we ever did. I kind of got used to the idea of it just being the two of us and it didn't upset me. I figured there would be worse things than growing old with a man who loved me."
"I always imagined a family," Homelander said and he looked to the ceiling as Victoria took her turn to watch him live out his fantasy. "You know when I first told you that I didn't think I could have kids? I'd been so scared…worried that it might push you away eventually. You told me that it was fine and that I was enough, but I worried that wouldn't always be the case and in time you'd want what I couldn't give you."
"You never had to worry about that," Victoria replied. "I love Evie and Ryan more than I can ever imagine, but growing up…I'd never wanted the typical family. It had never been something that I'd ever longed for and a part of me was worried. What if I had kids and I fucked them up? What if I couldn't be maternal? What if I couldn't love them like I wanted to? All of these things terrified me and then when we had Evie I realised that I never needed to worry about any of that. I realised I'd do anything for her."
Homelander glanced over to his wife once more and their eyes met. He searched her gaze and moved a gloved hand in between their bodies, resting it on the mattress. His fingers twitched and longed to move to take hold of her hand and clasp it in his.
"You're a good mum, you know that?"
"There are times when I'm not sure of that."
"No, you are," Homelander said to her. "Trust me. If there's one thing you don't need to worry about, it's being a good mum. You're a natural with her."
"And she loves you, you know that?" Victoria said to her husband. "She's always asking about you and I know that you love her. I know that you love Ryan. You just need to realise that you are enough for the both of them. All they need is a father…nothing else."
"I want to be there for them."
"And you can be," Victoria said. "But you need to give Ryan time first."
"I'm trying," Homelander said and Victoria didn't want to tell him just how trying she found him to be. He didn't get a chance to say anything else as her phone started to vibrate on the bedside table. She pushed herself onto her elbows and reached for it. She looked at the screen and let out a deep sigh of exasperation. Homelander watched her place it back down on the bedside table. "Work?" he questioned.
"Daniella has me speaking at some rally out in California next week," she said to her husband. "Ever since our debate things have been manic…I mean, there's so many conspiracy theories out there about how Neuman died that it's insane."
"Well, you did go on television and say that Starlight didn't kill her. What did you expect to happen?" Homelander asked and Victoria flopped onto her back next to him again. "People are going to start speculating about who killed her. The only way you can stop people talking is by telling the truth, but that would mean throwing your brother under the bus."
"Why haven't you done that?" Victoria asked him.
"He is wanted for Victoria's death."
"Yeah, but I told you that it was just him and not the others. The others had tried to kill her beforehand, but we both know it was just my brother who succeeded."
"I don't know," Homelander confessed to her. "Your brother…things with him have never been simple and I guess a part of me maybe wants to protect you still. If people found out that your brother killed her and now has a supe killing virus then they'd go mad. They might even start coming after you if they thought you knew where he was. I've done everything to persuade them to understand that you and your brother are estranged."
"We are now," Victoria said. "I should get back to unpacking anyway. Daniella is going to want to run strategy sometime soon."
"Just a few more minutes," Homelander said to her and he reached for her hand before she could get up. "Just a few more minutes of pretending we're not enemies."
"Until we go back out there and we have to be," Victoria finished for him and she let her head drop to the side to watch him. He mimicked her movement and she searched his gaze. "I really do hate this," she whispered to him.
He wanted to tell her that she didn't need to hate it. She could come home. She could come back to him and they would be happy, but he knew that wasn't going to achieve anything. He needed to play the long game.
"I hate it too," he promised her on that point. "When it's just us, it feels so easy, doesn't it? When there's no one else…no one judging us…no one with their opinions…it's so easy."
"Too easy," Victoria replied and Homelander's lips arched upwards.
"You never did like things too easy," he replied.
"You know me, stubborn as a mule," she said to him and he chuckled. "But you're equally as bad."
"We're as bad as each other then," Homelander said. "But this…being here together…can we not just have this? Can we not just enjoy these moments before we go back out there and try to rip each other to shreds?"
Victoria knew she should say no. She should tell him that she didn't want him near her, but she couldn't. She just kept silent and she felt him move an arm around her shoulders. She rolled against him, her front pressed to his side and her head by his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and he knew that this was how he was going to get her back. Threats weren't going to work because she was too stubborn. He had to go slowly, but it would work in the end.
As the two of them laid there in silence, neither of them heard their phones go off again. Homelander's informed him that Starlight had been located. Victoria's informed her that Daniella had gotten them access to Alex. But neither of them looked at their screens, they were too wrapped up in forgetting the outside world for a brief few minutes.
...
A/N: Thank you so very much to everyone who has reviewed. I never imagined getting this far and having nearly 500 reviews! It's amazing. Lots of filler chapters to come of Homelander v Victoria plus other characters too. Do let me know what you think!