Yawning loudly, Victoria was doing her best not to fall asleep. She had been travelling for the entire day around Florida. She had done three rallies, hopping on and off of planes and into cars for the entire day. She wasn't entirely sure how she had gotten through the day. Every time she went on stage she swore she was going to vomit. She didn't feel like she was cut out for this, but she had somehow become the spokesperson against Homelander's current regime. Her popularity had continued growing across the US as people felt confident to speak up against what was going on. Victoria knew that Homelander was still the one with all of the power. He was the one who was in the White House and had a seat at the table.

The curfew was still in place and supes were still leading law enforcement and patrolling their own areas, looking for Starlight and William Butcher. So far, however, the two of them had remained in hiding and no one had any idea where they were. Victoria guessed that her brother might be able to blend in quite well, but she'd been amazed Starlight had laid so low. She was easily recognisable and she didn't have Billy's ability to go incognito.

"So, tomorrow we have a morning TV interview, but we'll do that from the conference room in the hotel and they can just stream you in the studio," Daniella informed Victoria as they returned to the hotel.

Natalie and Evelyn had been holed up there for the entire day. Ryan had come with them too, but things still weren't great between them. He didn't bring anything up, choosing not to mention his dad or what he'd found out. Victoria couldn't blame him, knowing that it was still raw and he likely still needed time to come to terms with it. He'd been good with Evelyn though, constantly being with her and Natalie and just being a kid for a little while. There was no expectation on him to perform or be someone he wasn't.

"And in the afternoon?" Victoria wondered.

"We can fly back to NY and no doubt you'll need to respond to the VNN special your husband is doing," Daniella warned her and Victoria wanted to roll her eyes.

She'd heard about the VNN special. He was doing a sit-down exclusive interview. Victoria knew most of the questions would focus on what was going on with the new government, but she imagined there would be some personal questions in there about the state of his marriage. Homelander had been keen to emphasise that they weren't going to get divorced. He admitted that they were taking a break, but he was confident they would work through it. Victoria, on the other hand, just said that they were separated. She wasn't as confident as her husband was that they would be getting back together.

Ever since she'd rejected him that night, he had been slightly off with her. He would still come and visit Evelyn, but Ryan insisted on having nothing to do with him. Victoria and Homelander would talk, but the conversation was stilted and nothing more than pleasantries. For some reason that worried Victoria more than him trying to get back into her bed. She wasn't entirely sure where she stood with him now, but she also knew that he didn't enjoy rejection and that was what she was doing. She was rejecting him and he wouldn't take kindly to that.

"I don't see why I need to respond," Victoria said and they waited for the elevator. "I know what he's going to say. I can almost pre-empt it."

"Yeah, we might have a guess as to what he's going to do, but we still need to be ready," Daniella warned her. "You never know, he might throw a curveball."

"Like what?" Victoria wondered.

They stepped into the elevator and Daniella hit the button for the twelfth floor. She tucked her short-bobbed hair behind her ears and folded her arms, crumpling the red suit jacket she wore over her white shirt. She cocked her head and arched a brow. "Like telling the world that the two of you have been sleeping together despite being separated?"

Victoria glared at her friend who just shrugged her shoulders defensively.

"It's true, isn't it?" she retorted and Victoria rolled her eyes and looked away, sweaty palms pressing against the navy skirt she wore with a black shirt and long navy coat with brass buttons. "I'm not having a go at you, Vic, I'm just warning you that he probably has ammunition that he can use to try and discredit you. You keep going out there and saying you're separated, but if word gets out that the two of you are still sleeping together then what? People begin to wonder if your word means anything. You've lied about that so why can you not lie about something else? Soon enough, people are trying to discredit everything you've said."

"It's not like that," Victoria defended herself as the elevator finally arrived at their floor.

Stepping out of it, their heels sunk into the plush carpet beneath their feet. They headed down the corridor and Victoria saw the security guards sat outside of their rooms. She hated that they had to travel with so much security, but she knew that she had to do anything and everything to keep her daughter safe.

"Besides, he hasn't stayed over for a few weeks now," Victoria muttered so no one could hear. "I just see him when he wants to come and visit Evie."

"And you think that telling him no is going to work in your favour?" Daniella wondered and she stopped walking so that they could keep talking in a hushed tone and in private. "We both know what he is like, Vic. He's volatile. He says things to get his own way. Look at how he's behaved so far. Everything he's done has been to try and get you back in that Tower. You think he's going to stop trying to get you back?"

"He's been off with me for the last few weeks," Victoria just said back to her.

"No doubt because he wants to get you on the back foot," Daniella said. "Listen, I don't want you to go back to him. I don't want you to be anywhere near him knowing what I know…but he isn't the type of guy who quits. Look at the lengths he's gone to before to get you back. I just worry, that's all. I worry about him but then I worry even more about you when I find out that you've been willingly spending time with him and indulging him."

"You think I've been indulging him?"

"Is there any other reason why he's been staying the night?"

"He hasn't stayed in weeks," Victoria tried to defend herself. "Look, I'll talk to him if it would make you feel better? I can try to find out what he's got planned."

"You think he'd tell you?"

"I don't know," Victoria confessed, "but I need to talk to him anyway."

"I just think the entire thing between the two of you is a mess," Daniella confessed. "I know you despise him and everything he stands for and who he is, but for some reason you can't reconcile that with the man he was for you when you fell in love with him."

Victoria knew that was true. There was too much history between them and she never knew how to act around him. She knew how she should act, but that proved to be much more difficult than she'd ever anticipated it being.

…

"You know there's a curfew, don't you?"

"You know who I am, right?"

His retort was exactly what she'd expected. She'd phoned him as soon as Daniella had finished briefing her for the night. She'd spent some time with Evelyn and Ryan before putting her daughter to bed and telling Ryan not to stay up too late and play video games. She'd called Homelander and asked him to meet her. He'd told her that he would, but not at the hotel considering Ryan was there and he knew if his son heard him there then he would either flee or there would be an argument. Homelander was trying to respect Ryan's desire for space. He was just grateful that his son was somewhere safe and with Victoria.

And so they'd met by the coast on the beach. It was dark and eerie considering that no one was allowed to be outside after curfew. Victoria had somehow gotten herself an exemption to that rule and so had driven herself towards the beach, pulling up and parking in the lot before climbing out of the car and heading to the sand.

She'd changed into jeans and a sweatshirt with sneakers, hair tugged into a high ponytail and hanging down her neck. She moved towards the shore where the sand was wetter and easier to walk on. She could hear the waves crashing onto the beach, the surf from it splashing upward. The sea was dark and the only light came from the boardwalk behind her. The sky was twinkling with stars shining in the pitch-black night. Victoria would've found it almost picturesque under different circumstances.

After walking for five minutes, she heard the familiar noise of Homelander flying above her and then landing just in front of her. She folded her arms over her chest and headed towards him. He kept his hands on his hips as he also walked towards her.

"You know, at one time I might have enjoyed a curfew," Victoria confessed to him and his lips arched at that.

"That's because you hated going out," Homelander said. "You always were more comfortable staying in."

"Still am," Victoria said and she kept on walking and Homelander fell into step beside her. She walked closer to the waves and kept her eye on them to make sure that she didn't get wet.

"I don't know, I saw your speech at the rally this afternoon," Homelander said. "You were quite compelling. If I wasn't on this side then I might even be convinced to join you. Sage tells me you're doing well in the polls. She says we should be grateful you're not a US citizen so can't rise in politics. I told her that you'd never want a political position."

"You're not wrong," Victoria said. "And I do hate this, you know?" she said and she tightened the bobble holding her hair. Homelander glanced down to her and just nodded his head once.

"I know," he said. "You're great at it, but you're still nervous. You need to stop fidgeting when you're on stage."

"Easier said than done," Victoria replied. "Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about the rally today."

"Why did you phone then?"

"I know that things between us have been difficult," Victoria admitted and Homelander almost wanted to laugh at that. It was understatement. Things between them had been much more difficult than he had ever anticipated. Then again, they'd gone through so much and always come out the other side. "And I know that we're separated but trying to co-parent…and I mean…divorce-"

"-Do not even bring that word up," Homelander warned her and he stopped walking, holding a hand up to silence her. "We're not divorcing, Victoria. We both know that's never going to happen so you may as well keep quiet and not bring it up."

"But you know that we're not getting back together," Victoria replied. "We've had this same argument over and over again, John. It's exhausting."

"We will be back together," Homelander promised her on that point. Victoria wanted to scream at him, but she kept quiet. "You might've decided that you don't want to sleep together, but we both know that won't last because there will never be anyone else for you and if you even think of trying to find someone else…date someone else…then we both know what will happen."

"I'm not even thinking of finding someone else, John," Victoria said, her mind going to Alex for a brief moment and a stabbing pain hitting her stomach as she remembered what she once had and threw away. She'd hurt Alex. She'd hurt someone who she really did care for and who she thought she loved.

"No, but you're still young," Homelander said. And she was young. She was younger than he was. "And you can't tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life alone."

"Honestly? I think I've had my fair share of men for the time being, John," Victoria said and Homelander couldn't help himself from laughing at her. Victoria let her own lips arch and she laughed as well, despite the situation hardly being funny. "I'm serious," she promised her husband and she sunk down to sit in the sand, legs bent in front of her. "Being in a relationship or finding someone else isn't something that I want. All I want is to raise Evelyn in peace. I want to raise our daughter to have a normal childhood. I don't want this for her. I don't want to be dragging her from state to state…hardly spending time with her."

Homelander watched her on the ground before he copied her movements. He sat down next to her, his arm brushing hers. "You think I want this?" Homelander questioned.

"I know you don't," Victoria promised. "I know you want things to go back to how they were. You want us to come home and be the happy family you thought we could be, but that…that's just a pipedream now. We can't go back to that even if it was all I'd wanted at one time."

"Then why did you drag me all of the way out here?" Homelander wondered and there was a slight irritation in his tone.

Victoria knew she had to play her cards right. She didn't want to plant an idea in his mind if he hadn't thought about it. "You've been off with me for the past couple of weeks."

"You were the one who wanted space and told us we couldn't be together," Homelander reminded her. "I mean, what do you want from me, Vic? Do you want space? Do you not? I can't get my head around it."

"And I know that I'm probably not being fair right now," Victoria agreed and nodded her head quickly. "I know that asking you here is taking a liberty, but…the last few weeks…you haven't been able to look me in the eye when you talk to me. I know that things are difficult between us. I know that this isn't going to be easy…but I…for the sake of Evie…I do want us to get on. I do at least want us to get on."

Homelander shook his head at her and he moved to stand up once more, needing to pace. Victoria remained on the sand, hooking her arms around her legs and watching him as his hands went to his hips and he tilted his head back, looking up to the sky with a smarmy smirk on his face.

"You want us to get on?" Homelander demanded from her. "Do you have any fucking idea what you're asking, Victoria? Do you have any idea whatsoever how difficult this is for me? One minute you're there and begging me to stay with you…needing me…and the next you're pushing me away, demanding space but still wanting me to be…what? Your husband? Nice and smiley? You can't have that, Victoria. You can't have it because you have no idea how hard this is for me. You're fucking with my feelings for you. You're the only one who has ever made me like this…weak."

"That was never my intention, John," Victoria assured him. "I know that this isn't easy. You think it's easy for me too? It's not. None of this is easy and it…every time I look you it hurts. I just feel this ache inside of me for what we had. I know you think we can get back to that place, but we can't. We never will be able to and I am trying to accept that. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that we're done, John. We're finished."

"It's hard to come to terms with something that you keep saying but then reneging on," Homelander reminded her and Victoria knew that he had a valid point there. She had gone back on her word numerous times. She didn't mean to. She never meant to. She just found it was so easy to go back to how things were

"I know," Victoria agreed with him. "And that's why we can't go back again. We need to take this seriously, but that doesn't mean that I want us to be enemies, John. I want us to try and get on for Evie's sake."

"You always did ask too much," Homelander mumbled and Victoria wondered if that was necessarily true. She pushed herself to her feet and wiped the sand from her jeans. "I don't know if I can give you what you want, Vicky. I don't know if I can turn up to your new home and be all smiles and lightness…pretend that things are okay…because that's all we're doing now. We're pretending."

"John, most of our relationship has been pretend," she reminded him.

"No, it hasn't," he responded firmly, pointing at her. "You and me were real. We are real, Victoria. I know you like no one else and you know me too. I know that means something to you."

"It did," she promised him on that point. "It did mean something, John, but now…things have to change."

"And that's why you dragged me all the way out here?" Homelander demanded from her.

"I just wanted to try and set things right," Victoria said, not wanting to tell him that she really wanted to know what he intended on saying in his interview tomorrow. "I want us to work things out in private and not in front of cameras."

But then he clicked. He knew what she was doing. A menacing laugh left his throat and he shook his head back and forth, finding it almost amusing. He tossed his head back as the noise echoed through the darkness. Victoria crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep warm as a cool breeze moved across the beach, swirling some of the sand into the air.

"Fuck, you're so transparent," Homelander told her.

"What?" she tried to play innocent.

"Don't," Homelander warned her, eyes glimmering and set on her as he took a step towards her. "Don't play stupid, Victoria. You're many things, but we both know you're not stupid."

She let out a deep breath and rolled her eyes, flapping her arms by her side. "Fine," she said as he remained just one step away from her. "We know you're having that big interview tomorrow and I just…I know you, John. I know how your mind works and what you want to do. You want to discredit me. You want to make it so that I have no other option but to come back to you. That was why you told everyone about Billy. You wanted me to have nowhere to turn except back to you."

"You really think so little of me, huh?" he asked, but the amused expression remained on his face. She wasn't entirely sure why he thought this was entertaining, but she didn't mirror his reaction.

"It's like you said, I just know you," Victoria said.

"You know that I could easily discredit you, don't you?" Homelander said.

"I know," Victoria asked. "And that is why I am asking you not to. I want what we're going through to stay between us. We both know there's so much I could also say, but I never have and I never will."

Homelander suspected she had a point on that one. There was so much that she knew about him that could damage his reputation further if she mentioned it on camera. She didn't bring up his childhood. She didn't mention that he had been the one to kill Madlyn. Flight 37 still remained private. She hadn't even mentioned Becca or what he'd done to her. She kept his secrets. She kept his name out of the press. She just said that they were separating but that they were committed to co-parenting their daughter.

"Why?" Homelander questioned.

"Why what?" Victoria shot back.

"Why did you not tell people?"

"What good will it do?" Victoria retorted. "We both know that Vought will cover your tracks and I'll just look like some mad conspiracy theorist."

"And that's the only reason?" Homelander pushed, taking another inch closer to her until his chest was almost brushing hers.

"We both know there's so many other reasons, John," Victoria whispered to him.

Looking her in the eye, Homelander wondered just what it was going to take to get her to come home. All he wanted was her and his children back in the penthouse. He wanted to come home to them. He wanted to spend his nights playing with Evie and watching her grow inquisitive with the world around her. He wanted Ryan back with him and training to use his powers. He wanted to go to bed and know that Victoria was with him, laid beside him and in his arms. He just didn't know how to get that back.

"I won't tell people how we've been spending nights together," he finally said and he almost saw her face collapse with relief. "I'll keep our relationship out of it."

"Thank you," Victoria said gratefully to him.

"But I'm not going to stop fighting for us," he warned her. "And nothing you say will dissuade that."

"And I'm not going to give in," Victoria warned him.

"We'll see," he said, almost like he wanted to accept the challenge. "Did someone drive you here?"

"I drove myself," Victoria said. "I didn't want anyone to get in trouble for breaking the curfew."

"I'll walk you back to your car," Homelander said to her. "Come on."

He stretched his arm outwards and Victoria walked by his side along the shore, but the two of them ambled along it slowly. Victoria turned her gaze back to the ocean, looking out to the pitch black beyond. Victoria felt him move a hand to the small of her back. Homelander knew that it probably went against what she'd said, but he found it almost impossible being so close to her and not touching her.

"How's Evie?" he changed the topic completely.

"She's good," Victoria said. "We spent some time reading this afternoon. She's doing so well and she's growing so quick. A part of me feels like I'm missing so much…I don't know…like all I do is blink and she's already grown so much."

"I know," Homelander agreed with her on that point. "I don't know where that baby went who used to gabble nonsense and crawl around after me."

"I dread the day I go from mummy to mum," Victoria said and Homelander chuckled.

"How annoyed would you be if it became mom?"

"Furious," she said to her husband and Homelander laughed. "It's bad enough she's already developing an American accent. You know, she asked for water the other day and just added an r into it so it was like war-ter. I'm telling you; I should've taken her back to England and made her grow up there."

"All because you hate the American accent?"

"I don't hate it," Victoria said. "I know we both speak the same language but Americans don't put u's in words that should have them…and also why do you call chips crisps? Chips are fries. Then there's the fact that I've never gotten used to tipping. I don't understand it."

"I didn't know you had this many grievances, sweetheart," Homelander said, the term of affection just slipping from his lips, not that Victoria seemed to mind. "But, I find it odd. At least you can understand what we're saying. If you had that same accent that your brother has then I don't think I'd understand a word you spoke."

"My mum doesn't have as strong an accent as Billy does," Victoria said. "I think when I moved around a lot I lost my accent."

"I always thought you sounded like a posh Brit," Homelander said.

"I think that was because I spent a lot of time at Durham."

"And is Durham posh?"

"I thought it was relatively fancy," Victoria nodded.

"You know…I know it's weird to bring up now, but maybe we could've gone back to England back when things had been good," Homelander said, "not to go back to where you grew up, but to go to places that you liked…see where you studied…I still have that photo of you in your cap and gown, you know?"

"From my law degree?"

"Yeah," Homelander said. "I found it on their website and had it printed out. Kept it because you…I don't know, Vic, I was just so proud of you. I've always been proud of you and what you wanted to achieve."

Victoria wasn't sure if he was telling her the truth or feeding her a pack of lies. She chose to go with the former, but the latter seemed more plausible after everything they'd discussed so far.

"I know," she simply agreed with him.

They kept on walking back towards the car until they got there and Victoria fished around in her jean pocket for the key. She unlocked it and Homelander opened the driver's side door, but didn't let her climb in straight away. He kept his hand on the door, practically caging her between it. He reached a hand up to her cheek and tucked some strands of her hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear.

"Drive safe," he urged from her and she just nodded.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"I'll come and see Evie tomorrow. I take it Ryan…" he let the question hang in the air.

"He needs time," Victoria said, but she wasn't sure if that was entirely the case. She didn't think that Ryan would be ready to see his dad for quite some time. He looked disappointed, but he didn't push her on that point. He just let it go.

"I'll look after him," Victoria said, wondering if that was any comfort for him.

He moved his hand to rest against the side of her neck and he dipped his head down until he could press his lips to her forehead. He could smell the familiar scent on her perfume and her shampoo in his nose and he firmly shut his eyes, trying not to let himself feel too overwhelmed by being close to her. He didn't know if this feeling would ever pass. Would he ever not be intoxicated by her. He pulled back after a moment and just brushed his thumb along her cheekbone.

"I'll see you soon," Homelander simply said to her.

"I'll see you soon," she echoed back and climbed into the driver's seat.

He closed the door and heard her start the ignition. He took a step back as she put the car into reverse and backed out the parking spot. He raised his hand in the air and Victoria waved back before she started to drive out of the parking lot. Homelander watched her go but furrowed his brows as he heard something alongside the engine. It sounded like some kind of ticking noise.

He frowned and focused more intently, narrowing his eyes on the car and using his x-ray vision. It was then when he saw it and his heart lurched in his chest. He took off quicker than he had ever moved before.

"Victoria!" he screamed her name as he saw the car burst into a ball of flames.

...

A/N: And a cliffhanger there...season 5 has started filming. So excited to see what they come up with next!