A/N I know this took me longer to update than I wanted it too, but I have a good excuse this time! For the last two weeks I have been doing soooo much work for college! Writing paper after paper and I can't forget finals week! But now I am all done with finals and everything and currently on my winter break. So now I have time to write and update my stories! :)

Well here is the last chapter! :( I am going to miss this story sooo much! I have been working on this for over a year and it's going to be weird to no longer have this to work on. But all good things must end and I hope I ended this well. Let me know what you think and I hope you all enjoy!

~Axelrocks~

Chapter 14

It was that man! The same one she had only seen a day ago…the one that knew her name. What was he doing here? Had he done something to V? She clenched her fists tightly at her sides. He better not have!

The man seemed extremely shocked to see her there and it took him awhile to speak. "Is there something I can help you with, Ev-" he stopped himself. "Ma'am?"

He knew he had slipped and said her name last night, but now that they were face-to-face he did not want to make the same mistake.

She didn't say anything and he felt scrutinized under her gaze. Why was she staring at him like that? Surely he didn't look familiar, not without his mask at least.

"Ma'am?" he inquired again. "Can I help you? Or at least invite you inside so you can get out of the cold?"

Inviting her inside? What was he thinking! She would figure him out in a matter of minutes!

But isn't that what you want? he thought to himself.

No, he answered himself. She would be happy without me. She would be better off if I just went away.

But you no longer have your mask. You are free from your scars, he argued with himself. Now there is nothing stopping you from being with her.

But there was. The way he had treated her was inexcusable and even though this had happened a long time ago he was still slowly getting over the regret of it. Every time he saw her shirt hair, her curly locks now reached her shoulders, he thought of what he did to her. Though she had thanked him many times for it and she kept telling him to forget about, he couldn't.

Just then she finished her intense looking him over and finally answered his questions. "No, I'm fine. I just want to ask you a few questions, if that's okay."

"All right," he said with a smile, at least he hoped it was a smile and not a grimace.

He grew nervous as he thought about the kind of questions she would be asking him.

"There," she began. "Use to be a man, you may have heard of him, named V. He used to live here. Do you know where he has gone?"

There was no way he could answer her truthfully. So he didn't.

"I have no idea. I came …inquiring after this bit of property. H-He gave it to me and was soon gone. I have not seen him since, I'm afraid." Of all the lies he had told over the past year that one was the hardest.

"Oh," she looked away, saddened. "I can't believe he would just leave without saying good-bye."

He saw the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes and reconsidered his plan to not reveal himself.

"So this man, this V, he was a dear friend to you?"

"Yes, but he was also more than that," she paused and he anxiously awaited for what she was going to say next. "I loved him."

"So the man I saw you with last night? Was that him?"

"Last night?" she studied him once more.

Damn! Why did he mention last night? Now she was going to remember she had seen him last night and she would then remember he had spoken her name like he had known her.

"Oh…that man you saw me with was only a friend, nothing more."

"I see. You said this man V, is it possible he has taken off his mask and you have not recognized him?" He quickly changed the subject, but what was he doing suggesting that he might have taken off his mask and was just gallivanting around town?

"No," she shook her head. "He was horribly burned and scarred a long time ago." She tightly shut her eyes and shuddered a little, as if she knew exactly what had happened to him and was now reliving it in her mind.

She took a deep breath and continued. "He would not even show me his face, even after I assured him it did not matter to me what he looked like. So I doubt he would let the rest of the world see him mask less."

"I see. Well, I hope that you find him very soon…I can see that you care for him very much."

"I do." she smiled sadly. "Thank you for all your help." "I'm afraid I did not help you as much as I would have liked."

She placed a hand on his arm and smiled up at him. "You did all you could. And that was enough."

He then watched her turn and walk away.

~V~

V slowly closed the door once he had watched Evey completely disappear from his sight. He regretted every second he was talking with her that he did not reveal himself. Why must he be so stupid? She was obviously looking for him and she obviously cared for him…a lot. There was no longer a mask separating them. So what was his problem?

You're afraid to let yourself be loved, an inner voice said.

"What?" he asked himself out loud.

You have spent many years of your life alone. You had not a soul care for you. And when you did you were wretched away from them and now have long forgotten them. Now that you love someone you are afraid that she will to be taken from you.

He sighed. This was all true. Ever since he fell in love with Evey he had been afraid she would be taken away from him, more so now that she also returned his feelings.

But don't you see, you don't have to worry about someone else taking her away. You're driving her away yourself.

~V~

Evey sat on her couch with a warm cup of hot cocoa between her hands. She had yet to take a sip and she felt the cup lose its warmth after awhile. She had desperately wanted the cup of cocoa after she came in from the cold but now it was all but forgotten in her hands. She was in a deep thought. Ever since she had returned home her thoughts were fixed on the handsome man that now lived in V's old home.

She was positive that it was the same man who had ran into the garbage can last night and the same man who had said her name before he left. But when she had talked to him today he didn't seem to recognize her. Had she imagined him saying her name last night?

Maybe she had.

The more she recalled last night and earlier that day she found that the man seemed kind of…familiar. The way he dressed, mostly in black and dark colors, the way he held himself. The way he tilted his head sometimes when he talked and the way he held his hands clasped in front of him as he waited for her to speak. And then there was the way he talked…almost poetic like.

He seemed so familiar…

Just then her mug of cocoa slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor spraying cocoa and shattered porcelain everywhere.

This time she did not bother to clean it up.

~V~

How could he do this to her? He had acted like he hadn't known her and then he hadn't told her who he really was. Why?

Why would he lie to her?

~V~

V was surprised when he heard someone knocking on his door. Who was it now? He never got many visitors and today alone would make it three.

He walked to the door and opened it, ready to greet whoever it was. Standing there was Evey again and he was too shocked to say anything. What was she doing back here? And she did not look happy at all.

"You," she said.

And with that one word he knew she had figured out who he really was.

~V~

"Why?" she asked. "Why didn't you say anything to me about this, V?"

That was the first time she had said his name. She really knew it was him.

He was almost at a lost for words. Which was rare for him. "I don't know."

"So you would have had me go and live the rest of my life always thinking that one day you had just got up and left and never came back?"

He was silent.

"Well."

"You're smart, Evey. I am sure you would have figured it out sooner or later. You are here now. I say it did not take you as long as I thought."

"That is not the point, V, and you know it!"

He looked away from her. "I'm sorry, Evey."

"All I want to know is why you weren't going to tell me."

"I don't know."

She stared at him for a second, tears threatened to spill over, "If you never wanted to see me again all you had to do was say so." She turned and walked quickly away.

V watched her go and realized that this was probably the last time he'd ever see her.

~V~

No! He couldn't just let her walk away from him again! He loved her too much for her too just disappear from his life completely.

"Evey!" He called as he ran after her, but she didn't turn around. "Evey, wait!" he called again, grabbing her wrist and pulled her against him.

She buried her face in his chest, not wanting to look up at him. But he gently tilted her chin up and wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Evey, I am so sorry for everything I have done to you. You never deserved it."

Before she could say anything he kissed her.

She seemed surprised at first, but soon she melted into the kiss. Her arms round around his neck and he pulled her closer.

When they broke apart Evey smiled up at him, truly happy.

"I love you,A/ V."

He smiled back. His heart felt like it was about to burst with happiness at hearing those words.

"I love you, too, Evey."

She then softly caressed his unscarred cheek and looked into his eyes.

"Have I told you yet how beautiful your eyes are?"

"But they pale in comparison to the beauty of the woman who is now standing in front of me."

She blushed, then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again.

~V~

That evening they laid together on V's couch. Evey was very comfortable laying in V's arms and V loved having her there and knew that they were going to be together forever.

He kissed her on the cheek.

"Evey, I think I have finally found my tree."

The End

A/N I hope you all liked the ending! :)

A/N2 Oh, and if you all want a visual on how V looks now just look at my cover art for this chapter. It's a younger Hugo Weaving and he looks quite handsome! ;) Oh and once again THANK YOU for reading!

~Axelrocks~