--Barricade--

"Aha!" V exclaimed as he lunged at his would-be opponent, swinging his rapier through thin air at the invisible man. "I have you now, surrender or die!"

He paused, waiting for an answer, but none came. Instead, V was startled by a swish of air to his right, and turned just in time to witness the occurrence of a soft, white object hitting his face.

The weapon, a pillow, landed with a light thud upon the Shadow Gallery's floor and V's concealed eyes fixed upon the perpetrator.

Evey, looking very doe eyed and quite guilty, shivered as his gaze fell upon her. An unexpected and rather chilly excitement brewed inside her as the moment passed between them. She was not sure why she had thrown the pillow at him. The act was almost irresistible in a way. V looked so playful when he was fencing like that, and she had wanted to join in on the fun. Now, however, she was debating whether or not the consequences of such an action were worth it, and before he could utter a word she took off dashing down the hallway and into an adjacent room, squealing.

"I see I have a new foe," V said, smiling softly beneath the mask ask he set his rapier down and followed her, curious as to what the young woman was up too.

His approach was slow, footsteps tentative as he listened carefully to her soft footfalls.

Evey gasped at the realization that ha was giving chase his slow movements intimidating her all the more, but where to hide? She stopped near a closet located next the room where V did his laundering, opening the door to reveal a variety of spare items, including blankets, pillows, towels, and a variety of other comfortable living necessities. She smiled, an idea forming within her mind as she awaited his approach.

V heard a series of shuffling noises as he approached the room, and when he rounded the corner a most peculiar sight met his gaze. His mask cocked in query as he analyzed the situation.

A barricade made of towels, pillows, blankets, and whatever other fluffy objects that could be hastily found, lay before him. Behind that an even bigger pile of soft items could be found, a few pieces of Evey's clothing had somehow made it into the soft shelter, and he could hear her soft breath emanating from beneath the messy lot.

…Good heavens, had she really been that bored? Well, he would play along for, no need to destroy her fun.

"Hmm," he said, scrutinizing her barricade while he put a hand to Fawkes' chin in thought, "how to get through."

He circled the pile, smiling as a few select pillows to the side of Evey's makeshift shelter began to shake with her giggling. He came to the opposite side, knowing that she was not there as he picked up a random pillow and threw it to the floor beyond.

Behind the mask, he gave a disappointed grunt, "Well, she is in here somewhere. I can smell her. And to think, these towels were once clean."

One of the blankets appeared to laugh, "I'm not here! Go away!"

V chuckled, "not a wise move my dear." His gloves grasped a blanket that he knew would be particularly revealing and shook it, the items atop it scattering all about the room. There was a brief flash of her leg, and then an arm before V began to feel a substantial degree of resistance form against his efforts. Evey was clutching on to the blanket for dear life.

"Nooo!" She squeaked as she attempted to roll herself into the blanket like a burrito, grabbing the nearest pillow as she was slowly dragged towards her opponent.

"Take that!" She shouted, hitting him on the shoulder with a firm throw.

"Ha! You'll have to try harder than that Madame." V said, dodging a wayward towel and squatting as he grabbed another pillow, fully prepared to parry any further attacks.

Evey stuck her tongue out at him and tried to wiggle her legs out of the temporary cocoon that she had created for herself with the blanket. Then, succeeding at her efforts, she took the item and threw it at his person.

The blanket splayed, momentarily suspended in the air before landing atop them both.

Evey laughed aloud, relishing the moment as she tried to feel around herself.

V froze immediately.

Blackness, thick and warm with little room for clear breath. It struck a certain chord within his mind, something immensely chaotic and very unsettling. He could hear giggling around him but it was…distorted? Screaming, yes.

No.

Anger was welling up inside him, with an intensity that he usually reserved only for special occasions. He felt, trapped in some way. Restrained and unable to control his miserable environment.

Escape was the only option, but how?

Revenge. Murder. They killed her. Valarie. They murdered her. They did not deserve to live.

His breathing quickened, a soft growl escaping his throat as he felt something soft hit him.

Soft? Nothing here was soft.

Wait…

Evey.

"V! Aren't you going to fight back? It's more fun that way, you know." Evey said beneath the blanket as she aimed a pillow towards where she thought V was, launching it and grabbing another one shortly after that.

She heard a strange noise, and then felt something grab on to her arm, halting her playful assault.""

"No, no, no, no, Evey… Eve…Please Stop" V said, his breath ragged.

"What's wrong?" Something in his voice sounded very strange to her.

A moment of shallow breathing passed and V removed the blanket in an attempt to regain control over the rush of emotions that were now coursing through him, the primary one being a certain dreadful sense of anguish mixed with madness.

"V, are you alright?"

"Excuse me," he said, letting go of his grip on her arm (which, by now, was beginning to feel a bit too rough on Evey's skin) and standing weakly as he began an attempt to make his way out of the room, "I must leave"

The heavy thud and shuffle of his boots sounded quite unnatural to Evey, and when she heard him give a soft moan she shivered as a heavy sense of dread filtered through her bones. Was he hurt? Had it been her that did it?

"V?"

He paused, leaning against the doorframe of the room, his arms huddled as if there was some sort of chill and his back towards her person.

"It wasn't you" he whispered lowly, his deep voice echoing through the mask.

Defeated…that was what he looked like, she finally decided; lost, and defeated. She wanted to comfort him, but did not know if she was allowed too. The man always seemed so distant and so utterly…untouchable.

"V, I…do you want to talk about it?"

A soft hand made it's way up to his shoulder, hesitant at first, but then stronger and more determined.

He sighed, his shoulders dropping even further than they already had.

"It was just a memory, Evey. Fleeting, but powerful; something I did not wish to relive. I am sorry for spoiling your evening."

"V you didn't…" her voice trailed off when he moved forward, retreating from both the room and her. Her hand slipped down as he removed himself from it, and she let if fall where she would. Her expression was one of both confusion and sympathy, and she did not know what to make of him.

When he was out of sight she mumbled to herself, wishing she had gained the courage to say what she wished to convey to V.

"Don't give up V, maybe I don't understand everything but…" she sighed, "just don't give up."

Evey picked up one of the pillows, formerly part of the barricade she had created, which was now strewn all about the floor. Her hand smoothed across it and she smiled as a thought came to her.

There was a wall there, in V, but it was not made of steel. Not for her, at least. It would yield to her eventually, and perhaps it would not be as hard to get though as she once thought. Maybe his barricade was made of pillows.