I Did It For You (G/T Homelander x Reader)
2433 words. Hurt/comfort. Homelander is 8 feet tall. Reader is non-descriptive. Established relationship.
You are harassed by a scuzzball co-worker, and Homelander is a bit too forceful in protecting you.
You have been dating Homelander for a couple months now, with this fact hidden from the rest of Vought. However, you were fortunate enough to transfer from your boring desk job to become Homelander's personal assistant, allowing the two of you to spend more time together without suspicion. While most of your former co-workers are confused as to why you would take such a dangerous position, you shrug off their concerns and keep your real reasons to yourself.
One evening after a considerably busy workload, you are separated from Homelander to finish up some paperwork before signing off for the night. Making your way down the halls of your old floor, you are approached by one of your prior co-workers.
"I'm surprised to see you here again", they say, which is a bit baffling to you. The entire time you'd worked with them, not once did they return your attempts at small talk.
"I just had some forms to deliver to my old manager," you explain, trying to resume your stroll. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my boss". However, your previous co-worker blocks your path, reaching their arm out in front of you.
"Hey now, what's the rush?" they question, getting a bit too close for comfort as they invade your personal space. "You afraid that oversized supe is gonna throw you off the Tower like every other assistant he's had?"
You can't hide the glower forming on your face when they insult Homelander like that, causing them to chuckle at you.
"Come on now," they snort, eyeing you up and down. "We all know something is going on between you and that giant freak. You've lasted this long without him killing you, and you don't think anybody's noticed? You have some kinda dirt on him, dontcha?"
"I don't know what you're insinuating, but I'm just doing my job," you counter, again trying to end this awkward chat, but you are startled as they roughly grab onto your wrist to prevent you from leaving.
"Tell me what you know," they sneer as their face is right in front of yours. "I haven't been working at Vought this long to be upstaged by some newbie. You know something, and you aren't leaving without sharing."
"And what do we have here?" a voice suddenly reverberates through the hallway, causing you both to jump. You don't even have to turn around to know who has arrived, and you know for a fact he's been listening in on this whole conversation. You just pray that he's not in a bad mood.
"H-Homelander!" your co-worker stutters, letting your wrist go as they are unable to mask their unease seeing the leader of The Seven smiling down at the two of you. He rarely ever comes to this floor, and if he does it's never for a good reason. "W-We were just catching up on work matters, nothing to concern yourself about!"
"Ah ah ah," Homelander smugly retorts, wagging his finger as he leisurely saunters closer to your co-worker, forcing them to stagger backwards into the wall as he looms his massive form above them. "Don't you fucking lie to me". Although Homelander still has a smile painted on his face, it's obviously laced with venomous intent.
When your co-worker tries to flee, they are swiftly halted by his large hand enveloping their arm, just as they had done to stop you moments ago. In one quick flick of his wrist, he breaks their arm as easily as one would snap a graham cracker.
"How pathetic," Homelander scoffs, dropping his fake smile. Without any emotion, he ignores your co-worker's screams as they fall to their knees, writhing in pain. He bends down to snatch them by the collar of their shirt, lifting them back onto their feet. "You really are just fucking scum."
"And scum like you don't deserve anything," he snarls, baring his fangs. Wrapping one hand around your co-worker's neck, he effortlessly hoists them up and pins them against the wall eight feet in the air.
"Homelander, no! STOP!!" you gasp as your co-worker fruitlessly tries to break free from his iron grip, frantically kicking their legs while struggling to pull the large hand away from their throat. You grab onto his thigh, in a futile attempt to shake some sense into a brick wall.
Since starting your job at Vought, your co-workers have told you rumours about Homelander's inescapable rage. Sure you've seen his temper flare at the drop of a hat over something minor, but you're always there to calm him down. Around you, he's never gotten this mad before, and it terrifies you that he's not listening to your outcry.
You can see Homelander giving into his fury, his eyes turning red from his laser vision activating as he relishes torturing this mudperson by slowly applying more pressure to their windpipe. This worm dared to touch the only thing in the world he treasures, and he intends on making them pay. Once your co-worker's legs start to go limp, you know he is seconds away from killing them. In this moment you are aware that you only have one option left to attempt to stop him.
"JOHN!!" you shout, finally enough to grab his attention. Briefly turning his gaze to you, his face twitches involuntarily.
"Don't… don't call me that," Homelander snaps back at you, sounding more like a plea than a demand. Although his expression remains angry, he squeezes his eyes shut while breathing heavily through his nose. Thankfully, you can tell this was enough to have broken through his tough guy persona to the tender little boy he hides inside.
When Homelander first told you his birth name, 'John', he insisted you only use it in situations where you two are alone, and when he is comfortable enough. This name is the last piece connecting himself to his childhood, and he still has trouble dealing with the memories it conjures. Hearing it makes him feel small, vulnerable, and… human. You've seen how much he gets affected by you calling him 'John', even in an entirely loving way, and you understand it's something he only prefers on his own terms. However, you know you had to do something to stop him from murdering this person.
"John, please," you persist, ignoring his request. You reach up to caress his free hand, which is tightly clenched as he tries to control his conflicting emotions. "It's alright. I'm fine."
Homelander slowly relaxes his fist and allows you to weave your fingers around his own. Opening his eyes again, he looks tentatively down at you. While his outrage is beginning to soften, his pupils are still glowing red. His other hand is starting to release your co-worker's throat, albeit very reluctantly.
"Please put them down," you plead, massaging his hand while you refuse to tear your eyes away from him. "It's okay now. Everything's okay". You know he'd never laser you, and you need him to know you trust that he won't either. Luckily, he seems to understand your message as the light from his eyes slowly dims and his blue irises return.
There is a sudden thud once Homelander abruptly frees your co-worker from his grasp, dropping them hard onto the floor. At first you are alarmed that the fall could have done more damage because they appear to be unconscious, but you are relieved to at least hear them still breathing.
Looking back up to Homelander, you notice the last of his ire has vanished, now replaced by an intense distress as he comes back down and registers what he has done. It's not the near murder that's upset him, it's hearing your rapid heartbeat and smelling your cortisol levels spiking from fear. He's gone too far, and now you're frightened. He wants to say something, to put his bravado back on display and reassure you this mudperson doesn't deserve your compassion. However, he is just as petrified as you are, unable to form even basic sentences while his body is frozen in place. His mind is going a hundred miles an hour, convincing himself that you are going to realize that he is a monster and leave him.
As much as you are afraid by what has just occurred, you have come to learn the easiest way to diffuse situations like this is to soothe Homelander's anxieties. In a way it is a little disconcerting to you, having to be the one to tell him that everything's fine after what he's done. It's like the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, life and death dependent on making sure Homelander feels loved.
And yet, over the weeks you have gotten close to him… you want to be that person. You want to swaddle him with your devotion, because although he hides it from everyone else, he truly is broken. His life has been nothing but tragedy, a neverending nightmare that he has been forbidden to heal from. He deserves to be loved, and there is never a day that goes by where he doesn't display his ceaseless gratitude to everything that you do solely for his happiness.
"Could you please pick me up, sweetie?" you ask softly, raising your arms up to signal your intentions. Homelander swallows timidly, his lower lip quivering as he fights a losing battle with his tears. Carefully, he bends down to raise you up and cradle you in his arms. Propped up to be eye-level with him, you can readily discern the profound fear in his eyes, apprehensively waiting for you to speak first.
"I know you were just trying to protect me," you say, petting his cheek. He leans into your hand, chasing for affection. "And I'm grateful that you were there to help, but…" you trail off, biting your lip. You are trying to think of the best way to put this without making him more distraught.
"I don't like seeing you hurt people," you express firmly, immediately noting how hard he is trying to conceal his pain at hearing your disappointment in him. He hates letting you down, it reminds him too much of how miserable he was everytime he displeased Madelyn.
"I… I-I did it for you," Homelander whispers faintly, angling his head lower to do his best not to look you in the eyes. He doesn't want to catch a glimpse of your face, worried that he will be forced to see your grievances for his actions. Regardless, he feels your tiny hand moving from his cheek to under his chin in an effort to redirect his vision. You lack the strength to actually lift his massive head up, but he doesn't want to frustrate you anymore than he already has, and obediently does what you want. To his surprise, you don't look irritated… you only show sympathy.
"I know baby, I know," you console him, resting your forehead on his while you nuzzle into his nose. "Please, just… no more violence, okay?" you stress, bringing both of your hands back up to scratch his undercut. You feel him nod at your words as he closes his eyes and deeply sighs, completely melting into your touches. If there's one thing he would never do, it's go against your wishes. Under no circumstances would he willingly deprive himself of you.
Suddenly, Homelander's expression goes sour once he hears your co-worker finally awaken, roughly gasping for breath. You both glance over to see them rubbing their sore throat with their good hand as they shakily stand up, their back against the wall to support their battered body. When they eventually regain their bearings, they are shocked to spot you in Homelander's arms.
"Leave," Homelander states, staring daggers into them. The one thing he wanted to avoid has now happened; someone has discovered your secret relationship. Their hesitation to move only seems to anger him more, causing his face to twitch and contort into a menacing grimace.
"I SAID LEAVE!!" he yells, his voice booming throughout the hallway as his rage reignites his laser vision. Fearing for their life, your co-worker doesn't waste a second more as they run away as fast as their unstable gait will allow, disappearing down the hallway.
Homelander keeps his eyes focused on them, following their movements with his X-ray vision to ensure they don't come back. You can't stop yourself from feeling intimidated by the incredible heat emanating from his eyes, which fortunately dissipates when he redirects his gaze back to you.
"They're going to tell everyone about this," you fret, trying to ignore how cognizant you are seeing how quickly Homelander's demeanour flipped back to fury. He reminds you of a child when he does things like this; he really isn't the best at regulating his emotions.
"They'll stay quiet if they know what's good for them," he declares, still looking quite serious with his brows tightly knit together. "I'll make sure of it."
"Promise me you won't hurt them again," you fuss, doing your best to calm him down by bringing your palm back up to his cheek. "I know they're a horrible person, but just… promise me, please."
Like magic, your caresses return Homelander to the pliable state he was in before, efficiently wiping away all of his exasperation. Again, he sinks into your hand and nods to agree with your request. He hopes you recognize the level of restraint he is showing not ending your pitiful co-worker's life. This isn't something he'd do for just anyone, he only wants to be good for you.
"Vought will deal with them," he assures you, speaking from experience. This isn't the first person he's injured on purpose that the company has had to pay off, but this is the first instance where he is actually grateful humans are greedy enough to accept these bribes.
Homelander doesn't want to worry you anymore, he just wants you to be proud of him. You're always there to save him, and he's messed up his initial chance trying to do the same for you. More than anything he wants to see your face light up as he swoops down to guard you from danger, to show you his true power as he fights off the vermin of the city, or anyone that would even look at you the wrong way.
Even if you don't want him to, he's always going to be there to protect you. And one day, he yearns to show you the same level of care you give him, when you shelter him from himself.
176 notes
·
View notes