The highly anticipated lunch with Homelander.

He had put it off long enough.

Lunch wasn't something they did often, and it normally involved other members of The Seven. He found that Homelander grew increasingly annoyed with the rest of them more easily now. Dane seemed to be the only exception, which often scared him when he thought about it too much.

He eyed the restaurant as he pulled into the valet parking, brows raising slightly. A simple lunch quickly changed to a simple dinner which turned into this. Handing the keys off to the valet, he quickly jogged into the place.

"I'm here to see, uh, Homelander." Dane looked down at his wristwatch, instantly blanching at the time. Ten minutes late.

"Of course, right this this way." The hostess smiled, gesturing a hand toward her in the dimly lit room.

The place was fancy, but Dane half expected that. He was instructed to wear something nice, which constituted a black button up with slacks to match. He eyed his outfit before growing to regret his decision. Maybe he should have dressed up a little more.

He was led to a more secluded table, a bit further away from everyone else.

Homelander looked up from the menu to stare at Shadow for a moment, instantly moving to stand up and greet him. He wore something of similar attire to Dane, causing the latter to let out a breath of relief he hadn't known he was holding.

"Dane," The blond smiled wide, outreached arms moving to envolope him in a hug. "A little late, huh?" He nudged.

"Oh, I, uh—I'm sorry about that, John. I..." Dane began with his voice just above a whisper, unable to meet the other man's eyes as he pulled away from the embrace.

Homelander waited for the brunet to continue, but after a few moments he seemed to have given up.

"Well," he smiled, clasping a hand over the other man's shoulder. "Ten minutes isn't the end of the world, Dane. Let's eat?"

A timid smile replaced the slightly fearful expression that Dane adorned as he nodded nervously.
"Yes, of course."

The Shadow moved to his seat, but Homelander was quicker, sliding the plush chair out for him in a heartbeat. Dane hesitantly moved to sit down, allowing the other man to comfortably seat him at their table.

"How are our feelings on wine?" He felt the hot air on the shell of his ear before he registered the voice that followed.

Dane didn't trust his voice in that moment, merely nodding and hoping the man behind him caught it.

"Great!" He could hear the smile in Homelander's voice before he spotted him as the man made his way to his rightful seat.

"Well," The blond sighed lowly as he sat down, picking up the menu once again. He eyed Dane for a moment, causing the other to quickly follow suit with his own menu.

"Hm, the ravioli sounds great." The taller of the two mentioned, a hand gripping lightly at chin in thought.

Dane didn't say anything in reply, shakily opening the menu.

"A little surprised, aren't you?"

The brunet's eyes shot up, incidentally catching Homelander's own.

"Uh, what—what do you mean?" He murmured, straightening up in his seat.

The other man's ungloved hands gestured to his own torso with a smirk.

"Oh—Yes, of course. You look—you look very nice." Dane quickly spat out.

"You sure know how to make a grown man blush don't you, Dane?" Homelander laughed, placing a hand over his chest.

A waiter moved to greet them just as the blond regained his perfect posture.
"How are we feeling today?"

"Perfect, thank you." Homelander spoke out quickly, doing a once over of the menu before placing it back down.
"What are you getting?" He eyed The Shadow expectantly.

"The quail." Dane spoke up, his voice rather quiet.

"My apologies, sir, I couldn't quite catch that." The waiter leaned down slightly with a kind smile.

"The quail." Homelander snapped out, a glare immediately replacing his once delighted face.

"Of course, sir." The waiter immediately recovered. "And for you?"

"Scallop Carpaccio."

"Very good. Any appetizers?"

"Crostini caviar." The blond answered for both of them without missing a beat, eyes still furious.

"Now would you like to pair a wine with your dinner. I would recommend a nice—"

Homelander held up a hand, turning his head to face the man.
"Get us a Chardonnay." He bit out with a fake grin.

The waiter said nothing in return, immediately standing ramrod straight before tucking tail and walking away.

Homelander sighed, rolling his shoulders languidly before facing Dane.

"Isn't easy finding good help, is it?" He bit out with a smile and the tilt of his head.

Dane nodded stiffly, a frozen smile plastered onto his face.

"So, you and Starlight seem to be pretty buddy-buddy. You two hang out a lot?" Homelander rested his head on his hand as he stared at the other man.

"Oh, er, yes, we've gotten pretty close. She's a—she's a nice girl." Shadow spoke in a reserved manner, hands placed neatly in his lap.

"Huh," The other man responded with a thoughtful expression. In no time a new staff member's hand shot out to fill their glasses while another placed the appetizers down.

Dane cleared his throat quietly once they left, his posture straightening as he drew in a courageous breath.

"I feel as though... I'm a little out of the loop, John." He said finally, a tremor running down his spine as he did so.

Homelander looked up, raising a brow with a small smile soon following.
"And why do you say that?"

Shadow felt like he was under a microscopic lens, laid bare to the man's scrutinizing eyes. He shifted in his seat slightly.
"Well, we know I never particularly wanted to join The Seven. I've—I've always appreciated my time away from the spotlight."

"Yes, you do." Homelander narrowed his eyes.

Dane coughed nervously. "Yes." He rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment. "Well, lately that's all I've done... No small missions. Just, well—just the large profile ones. The ones—the ones you go on."

Homelander looked away in thought, slowly nodding before turning to face him again. "Well, I'll tell Madelyn to put us on smaller missions. How does that sound?"

Dane nodded, not saying a word. He couldn't catch a break away from the man, could he?

"Perfect." The blond clapped his hands together before waving down a waiter to whisk away the untouched appetizers.

"Let's eat!"