CHAPTER SIX
[  𝗦𝟬𝟭 𝗘𝟬𝟲 : 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀  ]

     Her morning would've been peaceful if she hadn't been awakened by hundreds of calls, all from the same number. Juliet did not feel like wearing her skin tight suit too early in the morning, so she dressed up in her regular clothes and even wore her glasses despite being inside the tower. On her way to Stillwell's office, she noticed how one of the seven marble statues had been replaced, finding herself staring at Starlight's carved face instead of Lamplighter. When Juliet stopped in front of the door, she knocked twice before someone opened it for her from the other side.

     "Stronghold," Stillwell greeted with a grin plastered on her lips, a well rehearsed one. Her voice showed excitement to see her, but Juliet knew otherwise. "Come on in."

     Stillwell closed the door once Juliet walked inside. Juliet noticed how the baby wasn't in the room this time, although the crib was still in place. She followed behind her and sat on one of the chairs on the other side of Stillwell's desk, suddenly growing nervous as to why she was here.

     "What did you want to talk about?"

     "Listen," Stillwell placed one hand to her hip and the other rested on her desk. "Due to the sudden. . .controversy regarding the Deep, he decided to take a sabbatical."

     Juliet knew the Deep well enough to know that he wasn't capable of taking that decision himself, but that Stillwell forced him to do it.

     "And?"

     "We were hoping if you'd like to take his place," Stillwell suggested and clasped her hands together. "Only for a couple months until we find the proper replacement."

     Juliet's excitement disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared beforehand. A frown was etched in her features, mostly out of confusion to the last part of Stillwell's last sentence. This was the perfect opportunity for her to claim her spot on The Seven, and they still viewed her as a stand-in for somebody else.

     "That's. . .great," Juliet forced herself to answer.

     "Perfect," Stillwell grinned. "I'll have somebody email your new schedule right away."

     Stillwell headed back to the door in a subtle way to tell Juliet that the meeting was over, yet the latter didn't move from her seat. She debated if she should say something now or wait for next time, but then she remembered she thought the exact thing last time she was here.

     "Can I ask something?" Juliet blurted out, a wave of confidence taking over her. "If it's no bother."

     Stillwell closed the barely open door again. "Sure."

     "Why not make me part of the Seven?" She asked, voicing the thought that had been nagging her for as long as she could remember. "I asked for Lamplighter's spot ever since he announced his retirement, yet you decided to hold auditions while I was here the entire time."

     "We've talked about this." Stillwell's smile wavered with a hint of annoyance before she recovered.

     "And I still don't understand."

     "Stronghold," Stillwell's tone was slow, as if she were talking to a child. "Your brand is, and always will be, Homelander's little sister. You're supposed to encourage him, cheer him on, but from the sidelines. Homelander protects Stronghold, they don't fight side by side."

     "So, what, I'm supposed to watch him get praised for having the powers that I also have?"

     Stillwell exhaled a long breath and took cautionary steps toward Juliet. She placed a hand on her shoulder, a gesture quite unusual for her to do, especially with her.

     "Listen to me," Stillwell's voice was sultry. "Your brother was born lucky, but you were lucky to be born."

     Juliet wished she could unhear those words, but was forced to sit in the silence following them. She lifted head to lock eyes with Stillwell's cold ones, and saw that there was not a single inch of regret in her expression and instead searched for any sort of reaction. Juliet decided to not give her the satisfaction and stood up from the chair, pulling Stillwell's hand back as she did so.

     She walked to the door and gripped the handle, but before she could swing it open, Stillwell's voice returned. "You walk out the room, you're fired."

     Juliet froze all her movements.

     "We don't want that, now, do we?"

     Juliet whirled on her heel in time to see Stillwell approaching her with crossed arms, eyeing her up and down as if she were looking for something to make fun of. She stood up closer than before, and Juliet's senses were overwhelmed by the woman's peculiar aroma – she reeked of baby powder and that distinguishable scent her brother had. She had to hide her scoff to not make this situation worse.

     "Stronghold," she spoke once again. "That's the way things are around here. That's the way it was destined to be ever since you and your brother were born. Now, do you agree to my terms, or not."

     A knot tightened in Juliet's stomach and all she could do was nod, since all words died in her throat.

     "So glad we could come to an understanding," Stillwell took a step back. Her heels clicked against the floor on her way back to her desk, sitting back comfortably on her chair like nothing had happened. "Close the door on your way out."

Juliet needed a quick way to clear her mind after her talk with Stillwell. She texted Hughie on her way out of the office in hopes that he might be available to meet up in that same bar or somewhere else. He was the only person in her life that wasn't tied to that company, and she thought he'd understand her terrible work conditions like he had back when they first met, but instead he bombarded her with yet another question about her powers and how she got them.

"I mean, I don't remember, but my mom once found me flying upside down above my crib," Juliet recited easily, remembering the time she shared this story with the world, all courtesy of the marketing crew. "So I have had powers since I was born. Why?"

"No, no, I'm just, uh, curious."

"I don't feel like talking about hero stuff tonight, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah," Hughie nodded in understanding and sat up on his chair. "Bad day at work?"

"Yeah," she chuckled drily. "That's an understatement."

Hughie pushed his glass back to rest his elbows on the table. Juliet nervously drummed her fingers against the wooden surface and used her free hand to push her falling glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, I have to ask," Hughie's voice stopped her drumming. "Are those real?"

Juliet noticed his eyes were transfixed on her glasses and she let out a laugh. "Sort of."

"'Sort of'?" Hughie repeated her words with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Juliet took them off and held them out for him to see. "They don't have a prescription, but every other thing about them is authentic."

"So, if you don't need them, why wear them?"

"It throws people off," she admitted. "I can walk through the city with them and nobody will ask me for a selfie. When we met you didn't even know who I was."

"That's true."

Juliet brought her glass of water up to her lips and silence took over their table once more. This allowed her to drift into her inner thoughts, which pointed out to her that almost every conversation they had always ended up revolving around her. Sure, there were anecdotes here and there, but the majority of the time he'd ask her about something and they'd end up talking about it for half the night.

"You okay?" Hughie's eyebrows were furrowed, noticing the skeptic look in her face. "What's going on?"

"I feel like we always end up talking about me," Juliet pointed out awkwardly, afraid that she might've ruined the mood by changing the subject quite abruptly.  "There's so much you know about me, but I don't know much about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, aren't friendships supposed to work on both sides?" she asked, her inexperience showing through her words. "You're a mystery. You never talk about your job, or your place."

"I quit my job." He admitted after a minute of contemplating his answer. He lowered his gaze to avoid eye contact. "I'm sorry, I really should've told you. After Robin, programming other people's remotes, it felt kind of pointless. And yeah, you can meet my dad, but you're gonna regret asking that."

"So everything's okay?"

"It's great."

"Hughie."

A third voice interrupted the conversation, similar to their last encounter with Hughie's childhood friend. Only this time, Juliet glanced up to see who it was due to the peculiarity of the accent.

"I thought that was you," the man spoke once again with a smirk plastered on his face. His disheveled black hair and matching beard stood out from everyone else in the bar.  "Ha. Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Hughie must've been caught off guard by the man's sudden appearance since he didn't utter a single word in response.

"No, it's fine." She took his silence as a way for her to take the initiative and extend her hand for him to shake. "Hi, I'm Juliet."

"Billy," his grip was firm against hers. "Old mate of Hughie's."

"Ah, you sure have a lot of friends showing up here."

"Yeah," Hughie finally spoke up. "Seems like it."

Billy's eyes widened in realization. "You're Homelander's sister, ain't you?"

"Yeah," Juliet answered with a forced smile.

"Wow. It is a pleasure to meet you," Billy expressed, his thick accent making it difficult for Juliet to pick up on his words. "And I must say how marvelous it is that so many more women are in positions of power. You know what I mean?"

His words were surprising, to say the least, but Juliet still nodded in response. Billy tugged his large coat closer to his body before he sat down on an empty chair. "You know, if I'm perfectly honest, Translucent's always been my favorite. What's he up to?"

"I think he's on a mission."

"Huh. Yeah, I think I read that, actually," Billy nodded along. He leaned his forearms on the table. "He's been gone a long time, though, hasn't he? I do hope he's all right."

Juliet pretended not to notice the glances Billy was exchanging with Hughie, and stood up from her seat. "You know what? I'm gonna go get us a pitcher."

"Billy, you like, let me guess," she paused. "Guinness?"

"I like what you like." He shot her a smirk.

"All right. Be right back."

Juliet headed toward the bar and asked the bartender for the pitcher, leaving Hughie and his friend Billy by themselves. She drummed her fingers on the wood as she waited, blending well in between the groups sitting on the bar stools, until the bartender handed her what she asked for. She thought she hadn't taken very long, but when she returned to her table with Hughie, Billy was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd your friend go?"

author's note !

shorter chapter than the other but it made more sense to separate this episode in two chapters.

also, i didn't make juliet and hughie kiss like in the show because i wanted something different instead of copying word for word and for them to develop more before they start a relationship. does it make sense?

- see you soon, bex <3