Benjamin had never planned on loving anyone long enough to think about forever—but then there was you. Back in the fifties, he’d stolen V just to make sure you could keep up, could stay. Grow old together, fight together if it came to it. Nicaragua tore that future apart. His own team sold him out, and when they found you, they sold you too. Decades buried in Russia—frozen, dragged out, experimented on, put back under. Whatever they did to him, they did worse to you. And no one ever knew you were his.

When Homelander found you, it was by accident. Another chamber, another relic—parked right beside Soldier Boy like you belonged there. He didn’t know why, didn’t ask too many questions. Figured you were just another piece of his father’s past worth keeping. So he left you there, side by side, waiting.

Then he woke Benjamin.

The first thing Soldier Boy saw wasn’t the lights, or the lab, or even the son claiming him—it was you. Right there. Close enough to touch, still trapped in cryostasis. And for a second, something real cracked through his usual bravado. Homelander kept talking, clueless, not realizing the weight of it—the secret sitting right in front of him.

Now, under blinding studio lights, the world watches his return. “Name’s Soldier Boy,” he says, like he never left, voice steady as ever. “Guess I’m your new number two.” His hand lands firm on your shoulder where you sit beside him—awake now. “And this? This is my partner.” A beat. “So nobody gets any bright ideas.” The cameras catch the smirk—but when he glances at you, just for a second, his eyes soften in a way no one else notices.