#He looks like he paused for some Corpos that wanted to do some-- shit on Nomads or Aldecaldos or even CARS

[another-corpo-rat]

❛ someone's needy. ❜ for victoria and kurt please -!! <3

ty very much for the prompt!!💕 someday i'll actually write smut and not just the prelude to it but today is not that day - and someday i'll actually use the prompt without paraphrasing-

❛ someone's needy. ❜ Kurt Hansen/OC

She acts like it’s the softest sound that gives him away; a catch of a breath as her teeth nip against his earlobe, the flex of his fingers as he lets the balance of control slip from his grasp into hers.

As if she hadn’t wrangled it from him the moment her hand splayed across his chest, when he obeyed her motions to be pinned against the leather of the sofa with more eagerness than he’d care to admit. She had been quick to settle over him, the barest trace of a smile on her lips before it was hidden in the crook of his neck, trailed along the delicate path where chrome met skin. 

He feels her smile widen, knows well how her optics glint with a barely tolerable smugness as she retraces that path with kisses that are mere ghosts of a sensation. As soft and warm as the smoky caramel breath that tickles his skin, lighter than the golden hand that trails upwards from knee to inner thigh, resting precariously, calculatedly close to where he wants it to be—

“Hansen.” She greets, formal and politically polite, as if this was another business venture, another press of negotiation between Barghest and Arasaka. Maybe it was, he wouldn’t put it past a corpo to change the field to suit their game, he certainly wouldn’t put it past this one. And if it was well, he had to admire the brazenness but minus points for originality.

“Crane.” He returns, his voice steady enough to mirror her tone. “Here on business?” His focus on her expression as she pulls back to regard him, or it tries to be – he’s drawn to her eyes, their golden hues paled yellow in the light of his office, crow’s feet crinkling in amusement as her gaze trails purposefully downwards to the prominent tent in his trousers.

“Of a sort.” Her hand trails up those final inches to palm his erection. He breathes in sharply, catching a moan between teeth as his knees spread wider of their own accord. “I do hate to leave things half-done, don’t you?”

Ah, so that was it. ‘Half-done’ was hardly the term for last time, ‘barely started’ maybe, before Yuri interrupted with some shit or another – an issue that was hardly worth his attention and sorted by the time he got to the lower levels, Victoria gone by his return upwards. Yuri’s still bruised from their spar the following day, the deep purple only recently fading to a sickly yellow.

He hums his agreement as she straddles him, arms curling around his shoulders as his hand settles on her hip, the other resting on her thigh and following her skirt’s trail as it rides up. “Gotta admit, I’m surprised you’re still hung up on that.”

“Oh, I was seething.”

“Mm, and now you’re fucking needy.” She’s about to argue – he knows she is, sees it in the narrowing of her eyes and the twist of her lips – but she quietens herself when he holds her gaze in his challenging own, his hand paused in the undoing of his belt. He might be the one uncomfortable in his own trousers but she’s the one who came to him, for him, instead of picking a name from her little black book to warm her bed. They both know it, and it’d sting her pride to hear it aloud.

“I’m not the only one.” She offers after a defeated sigh, with a pointed look downwards: a redirection he allows with a chuff. It’s more grace than she deserves, but she came all the way here just for him and he’d hate to be an ungracious host. And it’s not like he can argue the point either, with the obvious evidence in her favour added to with the relieved breath that escapes him as he finally unclasps his belt.

[corpocyborg]

i'll take a #9, #15, and #30 for valerie!

Thanks for the questions!

Ask game here.

I decided to try something different here, so I'm letting Valerie answer the questions herself this time.

09 favorite food? least favorite? are they a picky eater? do they have any dietary restrictions?

"Ah, food," she said. "Something I can definitely empathize with Goro on—I appreciate high quality food."

"My favorite food is sushi. Goro was extremely wary the first time I invited him over to try a meal from my favorite sushi restaurant. I hadn't ordered from there in long time—too expensive after I lost my Arasaka salary—but I saved up in the hopes that I might impress him and maybe remind him of home. It actually paid off. He admitted there might be some decent food in Night City after all." She shrugged slightly. "I didn't mention it's technically imported."

"But despite my appreciation for good food, there's not much that I'd really be unwilling to eat. I don't have a least favorite food because... well, having a least favorite anything is just kind of a downer. I don't let myself get down about the state of the modern world. Yeah, I may have to eat pepperoni made out of locusts unlike the beef and pork my ancestors had access to, but I have access to technology that can let me dodge bullets. Honestly, it's a worthy trade-off. So, no, I'm not a picky eater. Oh, and I don't have any dietary restrictions either."

15 how big or small is their family? who did they live with growing up? do they live with anyone now?

“When I was 11, my parents died,” she started. “Collateral damage of some robbery. It was unexpected. We lived in Charter Hill—wealthy neighborhood, pretty safe overall.” 

She paused, taking time to choose her words carefully.

“I lived in a government-run orphanage for a while. Fuckin’ shithole. Not for long, though. I had excellent grades. Had extracurriculars, leadership qualities, all that shit that looks good on a college application. And most importantly, both of my parents had held mid-level positions at Arasaka. I was 13 when they offered me a fast track that would eventually lead to the Academy in Night City. Apparently they keep an eye on the children of former employees, if they’re promising anyway.” 

“Look,” she continued. “My parents were good people. They loved me. But they were always… massively overprotective. Wouldn’t let me get any cyberware before I was 16, even though a lot of studies show you actually adapt better if you get it young. Wouldn’t let me get an after school job, even though there haven’t been child labor laws since before I was born. That kinda thing. A lot of corpos want their kids to follow in their footsteps, but to be honest, I don’t think my parents did.”

“Now, Arasaka Academy was completely different.” She grew excited, and she started speaking faster and more insistently. “They definitely didn’t coddle us there. A lot of our combat training was in virtuos, so we couldn’t actually be damaged, but they didn’t filter out the pain. Need something to motivate you to avoid getting shot at, don’t you? And cyberware? Well, we didn’t get it for free, but you could earn it. That and other kinds of useful prizes if you got first place in some exam or training exercise. Got my first pair of Kiroshi that way. The best part was, once you started earning cyberware, you tended to have an advantage against the students who didn’t have any yet. If you could get the proper momentum, it became easier to keep yourself near the top.”

She’d said all that so quickly that she needed to pause for breath.

“The only problem was sometimes I’d wonder if I should feel guilty. If it was wrong of me to be happier now that my parents were dead. But I was. It didn't take long for me to feel like Arasaka was my real family.”

30 do they smell like anything notable?

"Definitely cigarette smoke, for starters. Must be impossible for the scent not to cling to me with how often I smoke. But besides that, I think I mostly just smell clean. I don't really expect my scent would be particularly notable to most people."

[pinkydude]

[kashimos-hajime]

sawdust and plastic | g.t.

summary: you learn two things from your first real fight with goro. 1) he apologizes through cooking. 2) he hates it when they argue.

WARNINGS: spoilers for the gimme danger main job, swearing, slight angst, theye just communicating pairing: goro takemura x fem!street-kid!v word count: 2.2k

a/n: written with a fem!street-kid v who used to be a corpo kid. also dont yell at me but i rearranged v's apartment so the couch goes on all 3 sides bc comfortable :^) crossposted on ao3! enjoy :) 

part of the tales of a two-bit thief series

Sitting down on the couch, you kick up your feet for the first time in what you feel like has been ages. From Jackson Plains to reconnaissance on the Arasaka warehouse, you haven’t eaten shit besides the yakitori Takemura had ordered at that booth which already felt like ages ago. It’d been good—better than the trash you’ve eaten as a kid so you don’t really get picky—but you can’t help but recall the disgust on Takemura’s face when he had taken a single bite.

“Sawdust and plastic.”

You snort, running hands over your face and tilting your head back. Stupid fucking Japanese man with an endearing sense of dry-humour and… zero tolerance for your cheeky smiles. 

Then he had to go ahead and bring up Jack.

His words, cold, callous, echo in your skull like a goddamn radio and you squeeze your eyes tight, raking your hands down your face and melting into the couch. No matter how much you wanna stop it, you can’t help hearing it over and over and over.

Grabbing the remote, you’re about to switch on a channel in hopes you catch something that cna take your mind off everything when there’s a knock on your door.

For a moment, you truly debate telling them to fuck off but then, there is a pause.

“V.”

Eyes widening, your body goes rigid at the sound of his voice.

“V, let me in before I look anymore foolish.”

In the back of your head, you tempt the idea of just leaving him out there, pretending like you’ve fallen asleep, but then you get up anyway against your better judgement. You drag your feet over the floor, picking up old takeout boxes you haven’t had time to clean up and tossing clothes into a hamper to make your apartment look more like an organized mess than the dumpster fire you know Takemura will scold you for.

When you reach the door, you let him in without a word and you note the bags he holds on, hoisting them over to your living room counter.

“What’s this?” you question wearily. “Goro, I’m not hungry.”

“I realized I must apologize for my harsh words.” Beginning to pull out the groceries, you walk over and peer inside the bag, frowning. All the stuff inside is cheap synth shit, nothing you haven’t eaten before, but you’re still confused as to what’s going on since you don’t exactly have a kitchen in your place, but then out of one of the thicker bags, Takemura pulls out a big box.

“For saying them?”

“Yes." He sets the box down before continuing with groceries. “Earlier, I told you if I had time and resources, I would cook onigiri.”

“With cod, or grilled salmon. Or umeboshi plums, because they were Saburo’s favourite,” you finish and he sends you a look that could’ve been a smile if his lips had curved more and his eyes meant it. “I remember.” Helping him with the big box, you cut it open and find a rice cooker within. Eyeing the contraption with an arched eyebrow, you can’t help but ask: “Where’d you find this stuff?”

“It was difficult. I had to lower my standards.” 

“Lowering standards,” you echo dryly, unable to help your empty smile. “Yeah. We do that a lot in grand ole NC.” He doesn’t seem amused by you even trying to help as you sit down on the couch, twist to watch him work. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help?”

“I am cooking to apologize. It would not be honourable for you to help me,” he replies shortly and you nod to yourself, turning back around to watch the news. Nothing about a break-in with the floats, nothing at all indicating… anything.

For some reason, it makes you uneasy. The last time you snuck into an Arasaka building, everything went to shit and it made its mark. The lack of visible ripples makes you feel like nothing’s happened at all. Like it’s all been a fever dream, and you and Takemura didn’t sit on that roof for hours, watching the cat, just… talking.

Jesus, you need to get laid.

“Still don’t know why you bother cooking,” you say. Takemura noticeably stiffens and even though you don’t see it, you can almost feel the way he manipulates the air he stands in. He has that power—pure corpo power—and you clench your jaw. “Why waste time on someone so lazy as me?”

“V—"

“Nah, my bad. Arrogant. Hell, you probably see all the takeout around here and think I’m taking some easy route to food.” The bitterness is enough to puncture holes in steel as you stare blankly at the screen. “After all, I dirty my hands for money,” you quote. Your chest tightens as you hear his voice echo in yours, the way he had said it so coldly. Stomach turning, you shake your head. “Not in the name of some fucking principles.”

There’s a silence on his end and you close your eyes, swallowing through the bruising in your throat, a telltale sign you’re holding back tears. Just the mention of Jackie makes you want to spiral and you take a deep breath, trying not to react.

For the first time, you think Johnny might be right.

“Damn right, I am,” a voice says and you open your eyes, gaze fluttering to the side to see Johnny lounging against your couch. You turn around to see Takemura’s moved to the bathroom, probably to clean rice… however the fuck you make onigiri. You don’t know. You’re too tired to care about food, or feelings, or anything. “Never can trust a corpo. They all want one thing.”

“I don’t need to remind you that I was a corpo kid, do I?”

“Not anymore. It’s about principles.” Johnny’s tone is wry and you scowl at him. “What? If there’s one thing you might be able to relate to is that you both have ‘em. His might be wrong as shit, but…”

“Yeah, whatever.” 

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re gonna forgive him. This guy’s got you wrong, V. You don’t waste time on people like that.”

“I don’t have time to stay angry with him,” you argue. “The fact is, I’m dying and he’s gonna be the only one who can save me.” Johnny sits up straight, leaning on his knees and you sigh, shaking your head. Resting your arm along the back of the couch, you fit your hand to your face, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Fuck.”

“Stop. Don’t do it, V. It’s not worth it,” Johnny warns, standing up and you wrench your gaze up as you shift your feet on the floor and lean forward, burying your face in your hands. “I can feel everything you are feeling, and if I have to deal with your indecisive debates on whether or not it’s worth it to become attached to this corp piece of shit, I’ll kill myself.”

“You’re already dead, Johnny.”

“Let me live a little.” He stands and edges around you as if he were real and you rest your chin in your palms, watching as his holographic imagine crosses you before glitching back into view again across the table. He sits down. “The truth is, you’re gonna have a hell of a problem.”

“I know.”

“So, stop.” Johnny says it like it’s so easy and you chew on your cheek as the faucet turns off and you turn around to see Takemura begin to leave your bathroom. His pale eyes catch yours and you turn around only to see your brain tumour’s gone and left you alone. It’s eerily quiet in your head and you stand, clearing your throat.

Takemura slips the clean rice into the rice cooker before closing it and you cross your arms below your breasts, squeezing yourself tightly. You feel bare in your clothes despite wearing your scuffed jacket. He regards you warily, and then he sighs, gesturing to the couch—a silent ask.

 You nod, stepping back and letting him take where you were sitting earlier. You retreat across from him, where Johnny was sitting and he glances around your apartment. You wonder if he’s judging even more of you, but then he looks into his hands, swallowing visibly. 

“V—"

“You’re not the only one with principles. Just because I kill for money don't mean I'd do anything for it,” you begin coldly, leaning back and studying him. “And nothing about my life has been easy. When I said you did what you had to do to keep food on the table, that wasn’t me judging you. That was me getting it, alright, Goro?” His eyes meet yours and you arch an eyebrow, scoffing. “Not my problem if you don’t believe me. Yeah, I oppose corps, because they ruined my life, and so many other people’s lives no one can count 'em, but that doesn't mean you're any better than me. You don’t get to make assumptions about me. You never get to make assumptions about Jackie.That is all I have to say.”

He nods, accepting your harsh tone and you bite your tongue, trying not to burn down the bridge anymore than you need to as you prop a foot up against the table. Takemura doesn't say anything for a hot moment and you think you've wasted your time. Your knee jiggles. He doesn't even look at you.

Then: “I must again say that we are both still grieving. We ache to lash out. That is why I said what I said, and why, I presume, you say what you say.” He steeples his fingers and regards you with those eyes, gorgeous in their own right. “I understand what I said was callous. You have been nothing but understanding to my own loss.”

“No shit.”

“And I understand Mr. Welles was your friend.”

“He was like my brother,” you correct icily. “He’s been there for me since the beginning, I—I can’t forgive you saying something like that about him so easily, Goro.”

He dips his head. “I understand. It is why I cook for you. It is how I best express myself." The corner of his mouth tugs up faintly in a mirthless facsimile of a smile before he exhales sharply through his nose, looking at you again. "I confess I have not had time recently to cook, but I will do my best.” Johnny’s link comes to life at the mention and your own stomach squirms silently. “We are in this together, V. I do not wish for you to be angry at me.”

“Don’t do it, V. Don’t take it.”

“Fuck off, Johnny. I’m starving.” Aloud, you say: “I’ll be angry for a while. Just… let me sleep on it and we'll see from there.” He nods and you let your arms fall to your sides as you sit up. “It’s been a long few days, so I just… I just want to not think about anything for a while, you know?”

“I understand.”

He says that a lot, you notice. 

“Thank you for apologizing, at least,” you continue grudgingly. “Thanks.” You stand and gesture vaguely around the place. “Make yourself at home. I’m… I’m going to shower and scrub this grime off.” Dried blood, sweat, dirt, et cetera. He nods and stands as well, returning to the tiny cooking station he’s made for himself. You head to your closet, managing to pick out a clean shirt that’s a bit big and a jacket you ripped off a 6th Street goon a few weeks back. You just picked it up from the cleaners.

Heading for the bathroom, you set your crap on the toilet cover before poking your head out. Spotting Takemura sitting in front of the table, carefully sharpening a knife, you wait until he’s noticed you staring and he prompts you silently to ask.

“How’d you even know where I live, anyway?” 

He turns his gaze back on the blade.

“Ms. Olszewski marked it in my map, should the need arise.”

“This was a need?” you ask, curiously sardonic. Takemura doesn’t smile back and again, you get that impression he either doesn’t know how or he doesn’t do it often enough to remember. For some reason, that makes you sad. "Could've left it well enough alone. You know that."

“Oh, come on, V,” Johnny murmurs in your ear. “Don’t wax poetics on this guy.”

You ignore him.

“I do not enjoy the thought of a rift between you and I,” admits Takemura. He sets down the knife and sighs, eyes flitting to you briefly. Your hand wraps around the doorframe and you press your lips into a faint frown. "I... I have grown used to you."

You nod despite the words punching into your chest. “I don’t like it when we fight either.” At least, that you don’t have to fight twice to figure out. Your expression eases and your shoulders drop. “I’ll just hop in. Help yourself to whatever you can find. Really.” He accepts your offer with another nod and you close the door. It locks and you press your back against the metal, tipping your head back.

“For the love of—“

“Shut it, Johnny. Just… just give me a second.”

And on one of the rare occassions that he listens to you, Silverhand says nothing about how your heart doesn’t feel like wrought iron anymore.

[johnny-freaking-silverhand]

Hospitality Part 2

Goro Takemura x V

Part 1

Word Count: 2817

Ever since your first offer of letting Takemura use your apartment, he had been around almost every night. He would go out during the day, you weren’t sure if it was because he was working on trying to prove that Yorinobu had killed his father or because he felt like he was in your way, but he still returned in the evening to shower and sleep. If you were in, which wasn’t always the situation since you were working on finding a solution to your own problems, he would normally cook dinner as well, so your kitchen has never been so stocked. It was a pleasant arrangement that you had certainly gotten used too.

Having Takemura around had proved useful in some ways, you spent the best part of your days apart, both out in Night City pursuing separate leads but you spent most evenings together and had formed a sense of closeness in that time.

You were in the kitchen, just washing up when the relic malfunctioned, sending shocks of pain through your head before trailing down your spine. You let out a pained gasp, feeling the air being stolen from your lungs, as you held your head in your hands, releasing the glass that was in your hand. The glass shattered on the floor and you nearly collapsed.

As you felt your knees buckle, a strong arm wrapped around your waist, keeping you on your feet and holding you against his chest.

“V? Are you alright?” Takemura’s familiar voice managed to get through the ringing in your eyes.

He kept one arm around your waist and took one of your hands in his other, pulling it away from your head in an attempt to see what was going on.

“Are you alright?” his voice came through clearer as the ringing settled.

“Yeah…yeah…I’m okay” you nodded but Takemura didn’t release you.

“You should sit down” he advised before helping you over to the couch, sitting you down before kneeling down in front of you. “What’s wrong?” he asked, clearly concerned.

“It’s the relic…messing up again. It happens sometimes but usually goes a way pretty quickly” you explained. “But damn it hurts” you sighed, rubbing your forehead gently. “I think I’m fine now, just need to sit for a minute” you assured him.

“Is there anything I can get you?” Takemura kindly asked but you just shook your head. He nodded before standing and returning to the kitchen to clean up the smashed glass.

“You alright?” Johnny asked as he appeared standing in front of you.

“Yeah” you nodded, glad that he was just being calm and quiet for now.

“Did you say something?” Takemura asked from the kitchen, making you look over at him.

“Uh, no, sorry” you told him, seeing him nod and get back to work before turning back to Johnny.

“Maybe he isn’t too bad to have around” Johnny hummed, disappearing again as Takemura approached you.

“Here” he handed you a glass of water as he reached you, even though you had said that you didn’t need anything.

“Thank you” you smiled, taking the drink.

“There is no need to thank me” he assured you before leaving you to rest and have some space.

A FEW DAYS LATER

You were already at the apartment, lounging on your couch after closing a few gigs earlier on in the day, when Takemura walked through the door.

“I have news” he announced, getting your attention.

“Oh, please be good news, I can’t go running around right now” you groaned, turning your body to face him.

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t require your services” he assured you, making you relax against the back of the couch again.

“What is it?” you asked.

“I have found a new apartment, so I can finally stop intruding on you and your home” Takemura informed you, catching you off guard.

You paused for a moment, processing his words before speaking. “Goro, you aren’t intruding. I’ve told you, you’re always welcome here” you reminded him as you stood from the couch, moving to stand in front of him.

“I appreciate that, V, but it is time for me to leave the nest, as they say” he shook his head.

“Well, if you’re sure, just don’t want you to feel like you can’t stay” you nodded, trying to ignore the strange feeling of loss that was settling in your chest. “Is it nice?” you asked.

“It is…affordable” he told you unenthusiastically.

“Well, still, that’s good news” you attempted to sound optimistic, even if his new place already wasn’t sounding too great.

“You both look like kicked puppies” Johnny popped up beside you both and you had to resist the urge to roll your eyes. “You don’t want him to leave, he doesn’t want to leave, just tell him that” he advised, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Got to admit, I’m going to miss your cooking” you joked, deciding to ignore Johnny.

“I’d be happy to keep cooking for you. We can still have dinner together” Takemura offered.

“We can?” you asked, a little surprised.

“Of course. I could come here, or you could visit my new place” he nodded.

“I’d like that” you smiled.

“That’s a date invitation, right? I don’t know, these Corpos need to be more blunt” Johnny hummed, giving you a look that told you to take action but you ignored him.

“Well, if you ever need anything, you can call me” you reminded him.

“I will call you about dinner” Goro promised.

“Good” you nodded, still smiling.

And so, Takemura packed his belongings and left your apartment. As the door closed behind him, you sighed and sat down on the couch, Johnny once again appearing in front of you.

“Why did I have to get stuck in the head of an idiot?” Johnny asked with a scoff.

“Excuse me?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“You should have said something” Johnny told you.

“Like what?” you scoffed.

“Oh, I don’t know, ‘please don’t leave me, I love you!’” he mocked dramatically, doing an awful impression of you.

“Fuck off, Johnny. I don’t love him” you snapped.

“But you want him to stay” he pointed out, sitting on the coffee table in front of you.

“Just shut up” you groaned, not liking having somebody in your head, able to know what you’re thinking and feeling.

“He wanted to stay too, even I could see that. Should’ve said something” Johnny continued with his retrospective advise.

“I thought you didn’t like him” you looked at him with a confused expression. Why was he so supportive of having Takemura stay in the first place when he had been against your entire friendship not that long ago?

“Didn’t…still don’t really, but you do” Johnny shrugged, making you sigh. “Next time just say something” he advised. You weren’t sure whether you liked him more when he was just trying to get out of your head or now that he has actually become a friend getting involved with your personal life.

“Thanks for the advice, Johnny” you mumbled, tilting your head back against the back of the couch.

“Anytime, kid” he smirked before disappearing. You just rolled your eyes at him before closing your eyes and letting out a small sigh.

A FEW DAYS LATER

Since Takemura moved on from your apartment, the two of you had stayed in touch through phone calls and messages, but it wasn’t until a few days after he left that you received a call from him inviting you to dinner. Of course, you accepted the invitation, happy to meet in person again.

So, he sent you the address of the place he was staying at and immediately the alarm bells in your head started ringing when you saw where it was located. But you headed over, entering the small, rundown looking apartment complex. You had been in places like this a hundred times for one reason or another, but you couldn’t picture Takemura staying here.

Walking up the stairs and down a hallway, you finally reached the door of his apartment. You knocked on the door and you barely had to wait for Takemura to open it and greet you with a smile. He welcomed you inside and closed the door behind you as you walked further into the room.

The apartment was dimly lit, the windows had been bordered up for one reason or another, and there was nearly no furniture. It was bland and cold, and that was ignoring the signs of water damage or the sound of arguing coming from the neighbouring apartment. This just wasn’t Takemura’s style at all.

“Cosy” you commented but even you weren’t sure whether you were trying to be polite or sarcastic.

“I don’t plan on being here for long” Takemura assured you as he returned to the little kitchenette, where he had already prepared dinner. “Please, take a seat” he gestured towards the table positioned in the centre of the room.

You sat on one of the two chairs that were pulled up to the small table, a candle flickering in the centre. Takemura walked over and poured to drinks before going to get the plates of food, placing them down on the table before sitting across from you.

“Thank you” you smiled as he sat down.

“Aw, isn’t that nice. A little candle lit dinner…even in this shit hole” Johnny appeared, leaning back against the wall to the right of you.

“Please, Johnny” you thought as you took a sip of your drink, pleading with him to just give you one evening.

“Fine but you better be honest with him, I can’t handle the sulking anymore” Johnny muttered before disappearing again.

“Considering what you had to work with, this is great” you complimented his cooking once again as you began to eat.

“Thank you. Only a poor artist blames his tools” Takemura smiled at your compliment.

“Can’t argue with that” you chuckled.

“I don’t think we started on the same page, I first planned on bringing you to Yorinobu as his father’s killer but then he confirmed my suspicions that he had committed parricide. So, I saved your life and asked you to act as a witness to his death” Takemura spoke, confusing you slightly.

“Yeah, I know. I was there, remember?” you cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering where this was going.

“I am trying to say something” he confessed with a small sigh.

“Sorry, continue” you apologised, letting him speak.

“We agreed that we had mutual interests and could help each other, but I think you can agree that we have formed something more than a mutually beneficial arrangement” you tried not to be amused by the way he spoke, by how formal he sounded.

“Are you trying to say that we’re friends?” you asked, “if so, then I do agree.”

“Yes, we are friends” Takemura nodded, the slight awkwardness of his speech making you smile fondly. “Though, there is something else I felt I should discuss with you” he admitted.

“You’ve gone very formal. More so than usual” you informed him, not sure if he was aware of it.

“I’m sorry” he apologised, making you smile some more.

“It’s fine” you assured him. “So, what is it that you wanted to ‘discuss’ with me?” you asked.

“I seem to have developed more than feelings of friendship for you” Takemura confessed, surprising you yet again.

“You mean…you have feelings for me?” you asked to clarify.

“Yes” Goro nodded, “I do not know how you feel but I thought I should tell you.”

“Well, I…I feel the same way and I should have told you earlier” you confessed, cursing the light blush that formed on your cheeks. You hadn’t expected the day to take this turn. “Hold on, if you feel that way, why were you so insistent on moving out of my apartment and to…here” you asked, glancing around the grimy apartment.

“I wasn’t sure how you felt and if you did not return my feelings, I didn’t want you feeling uncomfortable with me being there” Takemura explained honestly.

“That’s…actually very sweet but clearly you had nothing to worry about” you pointed out with a smile.

“It appears so” he nodded.  

“Goro, will you just come back to the apartment? I know it’s not great but it’s better than here” you asked with a sigh. You hated seeing him here, it was miserable and dangerous.

“Perhaps I moved prematurely” he hummed in agreement.

“You moved thinking you would save me discomfort, it’s sweet but…” your words drifted off as you tried to think of the right way to phrase it.

“…but this place is not suitable for anyone” Takemura finished your sentence for you.

“Exactly” you nodded.

“I will come back” he agreed.

“Good” you let out a sigh of relief, both because you would get to see him more often again and because he was getting out of here.

“Is the new apartment really that bad?” Takemura asked sarcastically, and you just gave him an unamused expression in response that made him laugh. Yes, it really was that bad. “I believe this is the beginning of something wonderful” he told you with a charming smile, referring to what the two of you had between you.

“There is still a lot left up in the air” you reminded him, looking down at your food.

“I know but I’m optimistic that we’ll find the answers we need” Takemura claimed but you looked unsure. “V, you have done nothing but surprise and impress me since we met. I have no doubt that if anyone can right the wrongs you have faced, it is you” he encouraged, reaching over and placed his hand over yours.

“Thanks, Goro” you smiled softly, turning your hand over to hold his, feeling his thumb brush against the back of your hand as he smiled at you.

Maybe he was right, there were still leads to follow, there had been development that managed to give you hope. Maybe you could find solutions, and maybe you could do it together.

After dinner, you helped Takemura collect his belongings before heading back to your apartment. Once you arrived at your apartment, he unpacked his things, hanging up his clothes in your closet, and making himself at home just like you had told him to do.  

“I’m going to shower” you spoke up.

“I’ll shower afterwards” Takemura nodded, definitely feeling the need to have one after staying in that dingy apartment even if only for a few days.

You stepped into the bathroom, showering, drying your hair, and dressing in comfortable clothes before returning to the main room. You opened the door and stepped out, jumping a little as you bumped into Takemura.

“Sorry” you apologised, laughing a little as you looked up at him.

Goro just smiled as he lifted his hand, gently tucking your hair behind your ear before leaning down to press his lips to yours. The gesture was a little surprising, but you wouldn’t lie, you had been waiting for it to happen. He had shared his feelings for you, and you had returned them, but he never made a move to kiss you, so you had been waiting for the moment to be right. Now, he must have decided that it was.

“Took your time with that” you teased as he pulled away from the kiss. Takemura just chuckled and shook his head at you before stepping past you and into the bathroom.

“About time!” you turned to see Johnny lounging on your couch.

“Shut up, Johnny” you rolled your eyes but still smiled as he winked at you before disappearing again.

When Takemura came back out of the bathroom, you were sitting on the bed, yawning to yourself.

“Do you want me to take the couch?” Goro asked politely.

“You don’t need to sleep on the couch” you shook your head, smiling at him.

He returned your smile before walking over and joining you on the bed, you shifting over towards the wall to give him space. Just as you felt bad about him staying in that other apartment, you felt bad for making him sleep on the couch, at least now you could offer him some more comfort in your home.

You lay down and made yourself comfortable as he switched off the light. You weren’t exactly sure how comfortable he was with sharing a bed, so you just rolled onto your side, facing away from him and tried to get some sleep. You felt Goro shift behind you as he made himself comfortable, a smile forming on your face as you felt his arm wrap around your waist, his chest making contact with your back. You could tell that he was trying to read your comfort level as well, so you relaxed against him to reassure him.

“Night, Goro”

“Goodnight, V” 

[cakelanguage]

A very self-indulgent fluffy piece for RiVer. I just want these two to have a happy ending so I’m giving it to them! I hope you like this :)

You can also read this on AO3

--

It wasn’t even noon when V got a ping on her Agent from River. A small smile graced her face despite being in the middle of taking out another gonk for Wakako. The gig wasn’t hard - a simple in-and-out retrieval of some intel that’d fallen into the wrong hands, but even simple jobs sometimes involved taken out a guy or two. This one was harmless, not even worth the street cred it might get her for taking him out so she simply knocked him out and stuffed him in one of the bins conveniently posted outside the room.

Really it was like they were asking for people to just dump bodies in them. Actually, that was probably exactly what they wanted to happen. Fewer cleanups for the police to have to deal with and all.

Pocketing the shard that’d been on the desk, she pulled up River’s text.

Hey babe, you busy?

She grinned and quickly sent a negative to him. She barely found time to hang out with River, what with all the Arasaka and Johnny bullshit she’d been dealing with the past few months. Now that she wasn’t in imminent death from the Relic she honestly just wanted to spend some time with her boyfriend. Fuck if she wasn’t going to take advantage of River and her not being busy.

You available to call?

For you? Always. xoxo

She could almost hear Johnny groaning at her being mushy. She felt a pang of loss as she thought about the rockerboy and placed a kiss on her fist before she raised it to the sky. She hoped Johnny was out there somewhere giving the corpos hell from the deepest levels of cyberspace.

The call popped up and she quickly answered as she walked toward the drop-off point.

“Hey River,” V chirped, quickly taking in his appearance in the little window in the upper corner of her vision.

“V, hey yourself,” River said, a lop-sided grin settling easily on his face. “How’ve you been?”

She hummed noncommittally. “Can’t complain too much, definitely been missing morning cuddles though.” And perfect cups of coffee. And the polarity of temperatures between River’s cybernetic hand and the warmth of his skin. And kisses.

She felt needy, missing him so much and all the little things he did. But maybe needy wasn't so bad.

“I’ve missed them too.”

“Think we can change that then?”

“Yeah, case is closed and I’ll be back by this evening.”

If V could’ve purred with delight she would have. “Mm, I’m a lucky girl.”

River laughed, shaking his head. “I’m the lucky one.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks and she didn’t even try to hide her pleased grin. “As much as I’d love to just talk about how lucky we are to have each other, something tells me this isn’t strictly a pleasure call.”

Her boyfriend gave her an abashed smile. “You caught me,” he admitted.

She laughed. “Well go on, let’s hear it,” V teased. “What do you need? A contact? A lead? Someone, to do some super sleuthing?”

“No, no, nothing like that, it’s uh- it’s actually kind of a favor for me and Joss.”

Since she’d met River she’d steadily been getting closer and closer with Joss. It was nice to have another girlfriend, though with Judy and Panam, not to mention Misty and Rogue (if she could count Rogue), she wasn’t exactly lacking in them.

But Joss was different. She was a single mom who busted her ass to provide for her family. It reminded her starkly of her older sister back when the Bakkers were still around. And though Joss sometimes brought up painful memories for her, she loved the woman.

“I don’t mind helping you two out,” V reassured, finally dropping off the shard. She’d get the eddies within the next half hour and if need be she could split her earnings to give to the family. “Anything you need, I’m your girl.”

A husky chuckle echoes over the coms. "Anything, huh?"

"I helped take down one of the leading corpos in the world with an engram of a rockstar slowly taking over my brain - I'm open to just about anything at this point."

"Fair enough." River let out a breath of air. "Joss asked me if I'd meet her this afternoon at Heywood General Hospital to pick up Randy."

V's eyes widened. "He's been cleared for release?" She hadn't thought Randy would be released for another few weeks. It'd been touch-and-go at the beginning and although he'd come a long way since the farm, he still had plenty of recovering to do.

"Yeah, I was shocked too, but I've been visiting him and he's doing a lot better than he was."

Anything would've been better than the drug-induced catatonia that he'd been in when River and V had found him in that barn. She was still haunted by the half-lidded eyes and slack jaw that had been behind that plastic mask. "That's great," her shoulders relaxed from their previous position, "I'm glad he's doing better."

"Me too, and Joss is happy she gets to bring him home."

"He gonna be in his trailer again?"

River made a noncommittal noise. "That's up to him really. We don't know how he'll feel about being alone now but we've decided to let Randy feel his way through this one."

Made the most sense to V. "Alright so you and Joss are going to pick up Randy and you want me too…?" V asked, shifting their conversation back to the favor River and Joss wanted.

"Oh uh right yeah," River scratched the back of his neck. V wanted nothing more than to ease the man's nerves about whatever he was going to ask. "Since Joss and I are going to be getting Randy, we need someone to watch Dorian and Monique." He didn't pause to let her get a word in edgewise. "Usually one of the neighbors can watch them but most of them are busy and then I might've suggested that we could ask you." He scratched at his cheek and shifted his gaze to the side. "You can say of course, but I figured-"

"Babysitting the little rugrats?" V asked with a grin, interrupting her boyfriend's spiel. "You trust me to watch 'em?"

"V," River had that tone to his voice that was part scolding and part fond, "you're their 'Auntie V,' they'll be cheering when they find out you're watching them."

"I don't know, you did joke that I was the one who needed a babysitter."

He snorted and raised a meaningful brow. "And sometimes you do, but I have total faith in you on this. As does Joss."

"Well I guess I can trust Joss' judgment," V teased. "I can be there in twenty."

River's shoulders sagged at her acceptance. "Thanks, babe."

That mushy feeling returned with vengeance and V was sure she had some stupid look on her face. “Want me to make something for dinner?”

Her boyfriend whistled. “Got myself a lady who can kick ass and offer to make dinner.”

“Riv, come on,” she rolled her eyes trying to appear stern, “Dinner a yes or no?”

“Dinner would be great, to be honest. Joss and I were planning on picking something up on the way home.”

That wouldn’t do at all.

“Uh-uh, nope, no way am I letting Randy’s first meal out of the hospital to be some fast food soy protein that’s no much better than the shit you can get with a kibble card.”

“Hey, I’ve seen you eat that crap before,” River argued, though he looked more amused than anything.

“Details, details,” V waved a dismissive hand, “Randy have any food restrictions or favorite foods?”

Food had been a big part of V’s life growing up with the Bakker’s. Food didn’t just mean fueling the body, but feeding the soul. Her mother had once told her that a good meal could heal the body just as well as medicine. Looking back, V knew her mother had been exaggerating but she’d taken the statement to heart because a good meal showed someone you cared for their wellbeing.

Her boyfriend pondered her question as she pinged Jackie’s bike to meet her so she could leave.

“Well, he liked my jambalaya when I snuck some in for him to try last week.”

“Hot or mild?”

“Believe it or not, spicy.” His smile took on a bittersweet edge. “Told me it was the first thing he’d been able to taste since everything went down.”

“Then it’s good he got to taste something delicious,” V said.

River’s smile lost that edge and regained the softness he only showed when he was talking about his family or V herself. “Feel free to keep stroking my ego.”

V shook her head with a snort. “Maybe later,” she offered while mentally going through the repertoire of recipes she still remembered. Something spicy, strong flavors that the whole family would like. “Think he’d eat gumbo?”

“Gumbo?”

“Yeah, learned to make it back when my family was still together...”

She remembered the crowded prep stations, her underfoot as she helped as much as she could under her mother and sister’s tutelage. She remembered her uncle sneaking bits from the cutting boards and popping them in his mouth, sending her a wink and an exaggerated shushing motion to not say anything.

River didn’t interrupt her musing, instead, he waited patiently as she sorted her thoughts. He understood that if he interrupted V she wouldn’t finish talking about her past.

“Mealtime was one of the few times we all tried to be together and pause from our other duties,” V explained. “We made all kinds of stuff depending on who was in charge of dinner, but I know gumbo was my favorite and it’s similar to jambalaya.”

“A family recipe and your favorite, huh?” River commented, “I look forward to trying it.”

It didn’t matter that V hadn’t made gumbo in two years. She wanted to do something for her new family. "It’ll probably take me a little longer to get home since I’ll stop and get them on the way.” She revved the engine and patted the side of the bike. “See you, River, tell Randy we'll be waiting for him at home."

The silence stretched over the line and V had to make sure her Agent hadn't malfunctioned and dropped the call. But River was still connected, just stared at her with this shocked look. "You okay?" V asked.

Her question shook River from his stupor and he gave her a besotted look. "Yeah I'm fine," he reassured, "see you at home after Joss and I pick up Randy."

"Preem."

She snagged the veggies from an Aldaecado who sold some of their crops at the Sunset Motel and picked up some synthetic meat that didn’t look too bad and set course for the trailer park. The ride was as peaceful as ever and V cranked Jackie's bike to the max speed down the straightaways, shaving off five minutes from her ride. The Badlands were some of the best places to go full-throttle without having to worry about a bunch of traffic.

Joss stood on the porch while Monique and Dorian listened to whatever she told them, playfully jostling each other as much as they could get away with. As soon as they spotted V though, they dashed towards her with the exuberance that was only ever found in children. V knelt down with a laugh and opened her arms in invitation.

"Auntie V!" Monique cheered, reaching her first and throwing herself into V's waiting arms, scooping the little girl up into a full-body embrace.

V had quickly discovered how much the two kids liked their hugs and who was V to deny them that?

Dorian quickly followed, wrapping his arms around her legs. "Mom told us you're gonna watch us while she and Uncle River bring Randy home," Dorian said. "Which means we can play together again!"

V laughed and shifted Monique to her hip so she could ruffle Dorian's hair. "Only if you're willing to take this rookie under your wings," V said.

The two giggled and reassured her that they'd show her the ropes, both puffing up with pride.

She managed to slowly walk towards Joss with the two limpets clinging to her laughing and cheering. She saw the poorly hidden laughter that Joss was trying to cover up as just a smile. V was glad she could make the crow’s feet on the women's face crinkle instead of deepening the worry lines that were far too prominent on her friend's face.

“Hey Joss,” V greeted, shifting Monique enough so that she could pull Joss into an awkward one-armed hug.

“Hey, V,” Joss replied, pulling out of the hug. “Thank you so much for being willing to watch the kids.”

“Willing? I’m more than happy to watch them, you know that.”

V and the kids got along like a house fire and she cherished all the little games they’d play together. It gave V an excuse to check-out of adult stuff and focus on entertaining River’s niece and nephew. It had done wonders for her mental health.

Joss smiled and reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Monique’s ear. “Still, I know it’s last minute. Neither River nor I were expecting them to give Randy the okay to leave the hospital.”

“And Randy’s probably been chomping at the bit to leave that place, right?”

The woman scoffed, shaking her head. “If he could’ve, I’m sure he would’ve broken out of there after the first five days.”

“A boy after my own heart.”

Despite going to a number of ripperdocs, regular hospitals, and trauma centers left her nervous and itching to leave ASAP. River practically had to drag her to the hospital just to get a full brain scan after the Relic incident.

Joss rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “We shouldn’t be more than a few hours at most. Pretty sure it’ll mostly be paperwork and finding out any home care we need to know about for Randy’s recovery.”

As usual, Joss was fairly matter-of-fact about the whole thing but she couldn’t hide her worry. V figured she’d be just as worried if her baby had gone through what Randy had. It didn’t help that her relationship with her son had been strained before and no matter how much they’d talked since the incident there was still the unknown of how their relationship would go once he was home again.

“He’ll be excited to see you,” V said, setting down the girl in her arms.

Monique tugged at Dorian’s shirt and the two were off chasing after each other.

Joss remained silent but her shoulders relaxed some. Finally, she seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts. “If the kids get hungry-”

“Feed ‘em something that won’t give them a sugar rush,” V dutifully replied. “I know, Joss don’t worry, I can handle these two just fine.”

Joss sighed. “I know you can, but a mother can’t help but worry,” she managed to give V a sly smile. “You’ll understand when you and River have a kid.”

V made a choking noise as her face flushed. “J-Joss, we-we haven’t even talked about marriage yet.”

“Hop to it, V,” Joss joked with a clap. “Need you to make an honest man out of my gonk of a brother and I want to be an aunt at some point in the near future.”

It was a nice thought, getting married and starting a family with River. It sounded terribly domestic and kind of wonderful if she was being honest.

But her and River could talk about that later.

Much later.

“Go on, get going,” V shooed, “Randy’s waiting.”

“Alright, alright, we can talk about giving me nieces and nephews later,” Joss relented. ‘If you want to get takeout, I have a few menus in the kitchen with Dorian and Monique’s favorites circled.”

“Actually I was gonna make gumbo,” Seeing Joss’ surprise she continued. “It’s a family recipe and I haven’t made it in a while but River said that Randy liked his jambalaya so I figured he’d probably like gumbo too since it also has a strong flavor. But uh if they won’t like it-”

“V,” Joss interrupted with a grin.

“Hm?”

“I really hope River does marry you.”

V blushed and returned her grin. “Yeah me too.”

She’d managed to make the roux for the gumbo while Monique and Dorian were playing tag and now she just had to let the gumbo simmer which meant she was completely free to play. The two were more than ready for her to join them, bouncing around her as she quickly donned the AR set.

The blue tint to ‘Trouble in Heywood’ flooded her vision and she took in the kids’ game personas: Captain Joan McClane and Lieutenant Henry Callahan. It still made her laugh when she saw them, the two rough officers that looked like they were ex-Militech before joining the force. It didn’t help that the backstories they’d given them were so serious.

“Didn’t know if you’d come back, rookie,” Captain Joan, Monique said, her arms crossed and her face stern behind her shades. “Thought what you’d seen when we took down El Chamuco Endiablado was still clinging onto ya’.”

Lieutenant Henry Callahan, Dorian scoffed. “Nah, the two rookies we worked with for the takedown were good, and that’s coming from me,” he argued.

“Sounds like we might’ve grown on you two lone wolves, huh?” V teased, cocking her hip as she checked her gun.

“Don’t get cute with me, rookie,” Captain Joan said.

V raised her hands. “Fine, fine,” she bounced her eyes back and forth between the two. “What’s the situation today?”

“With El Chamuco Endiablado gone, we created a power vacuum and the force is flaggin’ under the pushback,” Captain Joan explained.

“Which is why they’ve called us in,” Lieutenant Henry added, “Regular force just won’t cut it, gotta call in the best of the precinct to take these goons down.”

“We called you in for backup, rookie. All you gotta do is keep up and watch our backs, we can handle the rest.”

“No doubt about that,” V said, “But y’know, I gotta make it home to my partner, promised him I’d make it back.”

“The other rookie?” Lieutenant Henry asked.

“The one and only.”

Captain Joan shook her head and cocked her gun. “Battlefield’s no place for emotion, rookie,” she advised. “We need to dedicate ourselves to taking this filth out.”

V nodded her head and squared her shoulders. “Yes, ma’am,” she saluted, “Are we ready to start?”

Lieutenant Henry gave her a wild grin. “Those bad guys can’t escape justice.”

They ended up playing three different rounds of ‘Trouble in Heywood,’ each round further expanding the narrative. In the last game, Lieutenant Henry had gone rogue to zero José Luis, a Valentino who’d gotten away with murder because the NCPD “didn’t have enough evidence to convict him.” According to Captain Joan, Lieutenant Henry had been harboring secret feelings for the murder victim and he was out for blood.

Honestly, V wasn’t sure where the kids pulled these plots from, but they were endlessly entertaining.

She looked up from the pot she was stirring and made sure the kids were still sitting at the table she'd sat them at with a snack. It didn't look good to her, but Monique and Dorian cheered at the sight of it so at least they liked it.

She tapped her spoon against the rim of her pot and set it to the side. "What do you two wanna do now?" V asked, taking a seat beside Dorian.

"Mom usually makes us practice our reading and math," Dorian grumbled, his eyebrows scrunching together. "We aren't even going to school yet, it's like lightyears away."

"Lightyears, huh?" V mused, propping her chin against her hand. "That's a pretty long time."

"I know!" Dorian threw his hands up. "She says she wants us to be ready and stuff but it's so boring."

"The worst," Monique agreed. "But maybe since Mom isn't here…" She trailed off and gave her puppy dog eyes.

Yeah, that wasn't going to work on her. "Oh no-"

"Please, V?" Dorian begged.

Then it became a cacophony of pleading words and promises to work harder tomorrow. Taking them on one-at-a-time, but both of them at once? Not even worth considering arguing.

"If I let you skip this lesson time," she started, the kids already whooping beside her. "I said if. "

The two nodded seriously, “We’ll do it,” they promised readily.

V shook her head, squinting at them with a skeptical look. “I haven’t even said what you have to do if you skip your lessons.” Monique and Dorian traded confused looks before turning back to her. “The first rule of any kinda deal,” she held up one finger, “you gotta listen to the whole deal, otherwise you might be signing yourself up for something worse.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Dorian insisted.

“How can you be sure?”

“Cause you’re nice,” Monique said. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Maybe not to you guys, but I’ve conned my fair share of gonks.” Their faith in her left a warm feeling in her chest. “Alright, but back to the deal. I let you guys skip, but you guys have to help me make a welcome home sign for Randy.”

Two pairs of wide eyes stared at her, mouths agape. “We’re gonna make a billboard?” They asked.

V bit her lip and shook her head. “Not a billboard, little short on time and really out of our budget.” She rifled through her pockets and pulled out a small device. “Had this bad boy for a while now, usually I use it to pull up my schematics or tweak one of my daemons, but I’ve got an app that’ll just let us create a design we wanna display.” She fiddled with her Agent and turned the phone towards them. “I’ve got the words, but I need two experts to really make it shine, figured you two would be perfect for the job.”

“Really?” Dorian whispered.

“Really really.” She leaned back, her smile relaxed and open. “I can do some graffiti or graphic style stuff, but you guys know Randy best.”

Monique kicked her legs back and forth and stared at the screen with a frown. “Last time we saw Randy, he didn’t want to hang out with us and said we were annoying him,” she mumbled just loud enough for V to hear.

Her heart sunk at the solemn tone of the girl’s voice. That was when Randy had been in Peter Pan’s grasp when he was being gaslighted with promises of understanding and promises of help.

You can tell a kid that their sibling loves them and what they were going through, but it didn’t erase the hurt that kid felt. And they didn’t fully understand.

Even so, reassurance was better than nothing.

“When Randy last talked to you,” V stated, making both kids look at her. “He was going through some tough times.” She picked at her nail as she tried to find the right words. How much did they know about what happened to Randy? “Do you know what happened with Randy?”

Dorian hesitantly shook his head. “We knew he went missing, and Mom said that you and Uncle River found him and brought him back,” he said.

“And he’s been at the hospital because he was hurt when you guys found him,” Monique added.

V nodded her head. “That’s the gist of it,” V admitted. She hesitated before continuing. “Randy thought he had a… friend, but when he went to meet this friend, he turned out to be a bad guy.”

“Like… the bad guys in our game?” Dorian asked.

V fought a grimace. “Worse.” When her statement was met with silence she continued. “Randy was captured and was hurt real bad while he was held captive.”

She’d never get the image of those kids gassed up and comatose, hooked up to those fucking machines out of her head. No matter what she did, she still remembers the frantic way her hands shook as she checked pulses on cool bodies and tugged out crusted IVs from limp arms.

“According to your Uncle River, Randy’s doing much better,” she reassured, trying to assuage some of their unease. “But he’s gonna need you two to help him, even if he’s grumpy and being mean.” She playfully punched her palm. “Sometimes you just gotta break through their defenses and make them understand. Which is why,” V gestured to her Agent, “We’re making him a special welcome sign.”

“And… it’ll help Randy?” Dorian asked.

“Showing him you care and are happy to see him can sometimes be exactly what a person needs.”

Monique and Dorian turned to each other and nodded before turning back to V. “You can count on us!”

V clapped her hands. “That’s what I like to hear!”

[jamiedc-they-them]

Sell and Repurchase

Requested Imagine: While trying to look for an old friend, you find her in the most unexpected of places. Even if, for her, it had been a long time coming.

You typed on your keyboard, getting the pop-up from your newest contact. This one is just asking for the contents that you had stolen from a company. Not the biggest one, but one that would have serious repercussions should you have been caught. 

You hadn’t been, as you had been taught by (who, to you) was one of the best; Skye. 

Saying that name always had a pang in your chest; she was your best friend, one that had helped you learn how to hack and how to do the Rising Tide podcast you had been working on for a few years before…

Well, before it all fell apart. 

Now, the Tide was almost over and done with. Or, rather, you were.

You sold the secrets for money, for a chance to run. You didn’t sell it to some big corpo, just some enemies of the Tide and wanted to see it come crashing down. 

With that, you went dark. You started anew, here in Denver, not really intent on making friends. 

Not when your only one was fuck knows where. 

You knew that those who you sold the info to and who you worked for had other intents with the information. You knew that, despite what everyone said, there was always something else going on in the background, something bad they hid in the shadows. 

“You really think I do, kid?” Your local checkout guy asked you as you paid for your things, “You think I’m just gonna sell you out like that?” 

“Just a matter of time. Plus, I’m helping you out, you help me.” 

“Maybe. But, even if you weren’t, I wouldn’t of anyway.” You looked around as he packed your bag, seeing a customer with a hat on picking out a drink. He seemed to always be there, but so did a lot of other customers.

“Sure.” You brushed it off, going back to your van.

Again, you typed, sending the information off. Now, you waited. Waited for the pingback that would get you one step closer to finding out whether or not your best friend was still alive. 

However, as the ping went off, the door to your van opened, with a man who wore shades and a smirk greeted you. 

“Y/N?” He asked.

“Whose it to?” You replied with, despite already having an idea. 

“SHIELD.” With that, a bag went over your head. 

Your cuffs kept you to the chair, again, as you tried to pull on it, “Fuck.” You cursed. It wasn’t budging. 

The door opened, with that same man walking in, this time without shades, “I’m Phil Coulson, and I’m sure this is really weird right now. But, I have reason to believe you’ve just sold some valuable data to a client that has ties to a very evil corporation.” The man, Coulson, told you as he sat down opposite you. 

“I just get it for them. I knew going in it wasn’t exactly going to be nice.” You confessed. 

Coulson nodded, “Anything else you want to tell me?” He prompted. 

“Nope. I’m sure you SHIELD guys have got a state of the art equipment to find them though, right? I mean, if I can do that from my van….you might need an upgrade.” 

Coulson smiled, “Yeah, maybe we do. But, we’ve got one of our best working on that. She’s been eager to talk to you.” 

“Despite not being interested, I always had a way with women.” You smirked, trying to hide the small amount of fear you had. 

“Yeah, she told us you’d be like that. Managed to make a short file for you.” Ok, now he had your interest. She? There was only one --

The door opened, with the woman you have been trying to find all this time. 

“Thanks, AC. Sorry for taking so long, Y/N’s always been good with this type of stuff.” She apologised. She sounded more mature, not the goofy friend you hand known. 

“Nothing to apologise for, agent Skye.” Agent? He looked back to you, “Don’t worry, we aren’t going to punish you or anything. You didn’t know. As Skye tells us, you’re a good guy. Just, tell her what we need, then we’ll be on our way.” He vowed, before leaving. 

Now it was just the two of you.

She sat down. You could see, in her eyes, that this reunion seemed to carry the same weight as it had to you.

Two best friends. Two siblings by bond coming back together. 

“Hi, Y/N.” Her voice was light. She had lost the professionalism to it the moment she spoke to you.

Now, you just had to find out how the fuck she ended up here. Why she had stayed. That was a big one; you had never stayed in more than one location for this long before. Why change now?

“You ready?” She asked, opening a very small file. Inside was your photo. Ah, so she was looking through what SHIELD had on you. 

You leaned forward, “Oh yeah, I’m ready.” You answered. 

Time to get some answers of your own.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a man Skye had met, just before Miles. The one who came before. Miles and him were friends, but himself and Skye didn’t become a thing until after. His name was Peter. 

“Y/N, born in --”

“You don’t need to read from that, Skye. You know me, just like I know you.” You interrupted with. 

Skye looked at you, eyes hiding the emotion that laid behind them, “Or, I want to know how you ended up here. You wanna catch me up?” 

She fully closed the file, pushing it to one side, “You wanna tell me who you were working for?” She fired back.

“Share for share. I go, you go.” You ‘offered’. 

“You first.” She was waiting. 

“No idea who they were. They just offered me something.”

“Money?” She guessed. 

“Nah, got gigs for that.” You answered. 

“Then what? Give me something, Y/N. Something I can use to help you get out of this.” That’s ironic. 

“You. They said they had information on you. Besides, you not give them enough for me to get out this cleanly anyway.” Something happened in her eyes. They widened, for sure, but there seemed to be a bit of fear in them too. 

However, she was quick to cover it up, “Tried to hack SHIELD to find anything out on my parents. Tried to find some things on yours, too.” She said, voice delicate. 

You looked to the table, before up to her, “Told you, didn’t want to know ‘em --”

“I know...I’m sorry,” You shook your head, telling her to not worry about it, “Anyways, they found me, dragged me into a different room to this. But, same flavour, really: drab colours.” You let out a chuckle at her words. She smiled. 

“Guy said it was a shell company. Just wanted some files. I went and got ‘em.” You said, holding up your end of the deal. 

Peter was good; he was a kind, gentle, soul. Despite everything he had gone through, he had never lost the gentleness he had that his foster father had deemed as weak. 

There was a time when you had a nightmare, and Skye was driving. Peter was there, waking you up and helping you calm down. 

“Are they ok?” Skye asked, looking back at you both through the mirror. 

You nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, they’re good. They’re good.” He assured his (then) girlfriend. 

“I helped them out. I helped them get what they wanted. They wanted Mike, I helped them get him.” She continued to tell you.

“So, you gave him up?” Skye gave you a head tilt and silent glare. 

“No, I didn’t. He had powers, and needed to be brought in.” She defended. 

“I have powers. And you guys didn’t run at me with guns Or you tell them that from the get go, and that’s why you didn’t come running in with guns?” 

“You do. And my intel played a part. Along with other pieces.” Now you looked a bit confused, “Guy who worked in the shop you went to --”

“The cashier?” 

“No, a customer.” Shit. 

“Fuck.” You cursed, leaning back in your chair. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N --” You stopped her.

“Did the cashier know?” She shook her head. 

“Guy with the hat that was always there. That was the agent.” You just nodded.

“We stopped Mike, I was made an offer; I was given the chance to be apart of something, Y/N. Be a part of a team. That, and I got the Tide an in.” 

“Alright, you ready, little sibling?” Skye asked you as you both set up the mics. You nodded. 

She started the broadcast to the rest of the world, telling them what you had found on SHIELD and other organisations like it; the ones who covered things up. 

Peter sat in the driver’s seat, playing look out to see if anyone looked suspicious. He looked at you both through the mirror with a soft smile. His phone went off, it was Miles calling. 

“Used the same backdoor to the place you showed me how to open.” You said. 

“Wait, there was already a back door?” She questioned. 

“Yeah, it’s what I used to get into to get the data.” 

“You remember the company's name?” You shook your head. 

“No, shell company. What for? I do not know. Just know that it existed as a front for something else.” 

“I got my in. Started out not really sure of what to make of them. But, as it went on, we actually worked together well. It was -- It was like we were pieces to a puzzle.” At the pause, she seemed to almost have to catch herself.

“What happened there?” You pushed. This might’ve been it, this might be the key. 

“There was just… this guy. There was...something about him. A pull, in a way. He was like Peter, at first, then more like Miles. His name was -- his name was Grant Ward. He was -- uh….he wasn’t a good guy. I thought he was...but...” 

“I’m sorry.” You were genuine. 

Skye shook her head, “Don’t be, my friends got me out. They had my back, even when they found out why I joined.” 

She then put a pad on a table, “I’ve been using this to talk to Coulson about hte info you’ve been giving me. It’s notes, don’t worry. Just things for the mission. But...I think you’d be good at this.” 

“At what?” 

“At being an agent. Working alongside me, helping me. Just like old times.” 

Now it was your eyes that widened. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Them? You want me -- you want me to join SHIELD?” You asked, still shocked at the very thought of the offer. 

Skye scrunched her eyebrows together, “Yeah. I mean, these people you’re working for aren’t good people, Y/N.” 

“Oh, and SHIELD is?” 

“SHIELD has done some shitty things, I’ll admit. It’s not perfect. Nothing is. But, it’s trying to do good. We’re actually trying to help people. We’re making a difference.” Skye argued. 

“And I’m not?” 

“You helped people affiliated with fucking Nazi’s!” 

“When?!” You were both getting angry. 

She slammed the file down, opening it pointing at the name of one of your clients, “This. It’s a front for a Nazi organisation called HYDRA. You gave them valuable information.” 

“What information?” 

“On SHIELD agents and their locations. That thing you hacked? That thing with the back door already open? That’s a SHIELD server. You hacked a SHIELD server!” 

“I had to find you --”

“You had Peter.” 

“Had. Had is the keyword there.” That stopped her.

Miles and Skye darted dating. Nothing bad happened with her and Peter, they just realised they didn’t love each other in that way anymore. He was still a good friend to you both. 

“Skye.” Miles said as she stopped the van, “We need to get this new broadcast out.” He said. 

“I’m not leaving Y/N behind. I’m not leaving Peter behind. I’m not leaving our friends.” She said, firm toned. 

“Look, babe,” he took her hands in his own, “Just think about it, ok? You can, you know.” He was keeping it intentionally vague.

“Meanwhile, you two, you got the blowout job, right?” The ‘blowout’ job was one that had a big paycheck to it. 

Part of you should’ve known with the look Miles gave you compared to the one Skye gave you; her’s being one of concern, his being faux-concern. 

“Oh my god.” She breathed out, voice shaking, “He...he’s dead?” 

You only nodded, “I tried to find you both after, but you had both just...gone. It’s why I took off. I wanted to find you, and Miles wouldn’t take any calls or messages.” 

“He ran. He didn’t mention you when I found him, at all.” She said it all coming together for her. 

“How long is it until these guys do it to you, too?” That one stopped her cold. 

“They won’t.” She said, firm. 

“You and I both know they will. We both sold out, just in different directions. At least I’m not fooling myself.” You hated to be harsh, you hated the look of hurt on your best friend’s face. But, you had to be if she was going to see the ‘truth’. 

“I gave you up to protect you! What we did was dangerous!” She argued. 

“You don’t think I don’t know that, Skye? Now, here we you, with me in handcuffs and you playing in the very role we tried to take down. Except, this time, when it crashes and burns, it’ll be you whose left in the dirt as everyone else runs!”

“Y/N...they aren’t like that.” 

“Coulson seems the type. I mean, Miles did it, he has that same look to him.” 

“Stop --” She pleaded. 

“Did they brainwash you or something? Is that why you’re staying? Skye, I just want to know why. I wanna help you get out.” You were desperate for her to see that it was the whole reason for this. 

She leant forward, meeting you in your own movement forward, she had tears in her eyes, “They aren’t like Miles, they aren’t like the nun’s at the orphanage. These are good people, Y/N. They said they’d stay and they stayed. I betrayed them by joining with the intention of taking them down, and they let me stay. I get the hate we used to have for --”

“We? No, just me, Skye. You gave that anarchistic side when you sided with them. Skye, I’m trying to help you out here --”

“And I’m trying to make sure you get out of this without anything bad happening to you.” 

“And you think working with a bunch of suits will fix it?” 

“You think helping a bunch of Nazi’s kill a bunch of people that want to help is good?” 

“Better than selling your soul and your friends, Skye.” 

She stood up, not giving a response. If anything, the slamming off the door was the response.

You may have just lost your best friend. Your best friend in the whole world; someone who was akin to a sister figure for you. Someone who was loyal, and was. Someone like Peter. 

Someone like --

“I’m gonna unlock your cuffs. We’ve gotten the info we needed. Thank you for that.” Coulson said over the comm in the cell, his voice echoing all around it. 

“Sure. Anything for the greater good, right?” There was a sarcastic bite to your words. 

“For once? That’s true. We’ll take it and go after the funders. Any intel we can get is useful on them. I’m just sorry that this one came at a cost.” He sounded like he meant it. 

Then again, Miles also managed to fool you with that one. 

“Skye ever tell you about Peter?” You asked, out loud. 

“No.” Was the response from Coulson.

“That was our last gig together; going in for that one last big gig before we’d all run off together. Plan was to start again, buy ourselves a good home and live there, doing what we could for people in need. Then again, some of those people are the same as those at the top, just money hungry. Miles was one of them. And I -- I didn’t see it sooner.”  You had no idea why you were confessing to this man who you had only seen once. 

Maybe it was the fact that Skye trusted him, looked up to him. 

“I get it,” He said, “I get why you’re cautious. I get why you’re defensive of yourself and her. This worlds a scary place, filled with scary people --”

“I’m not six. Plus, Skye can take care of herself. Guess it’s just....” You paused. Coulson didn’t interrupt the whole time, “It was the way we worked, you know? Just us. Just us and the rising tide, doing the podcast and letting the world know about the truth.” 

“SHIELD has skeletons in it’s past, I won’t deny that. We’ve done things; covered up things and done even worse things. We aren’t clean. But, that was old SHIELD, this is the new SHIELD.” 

“Miles set us up” You admitted, “He sold Peter and me out, then Skye went into SHIELD. I don’t think he planned for her to go in as early, but there were always talks of it. Jesus, that fucker.” 

“How long were you on your own for?” Coulson asked. 

“Three years. Spent it finding any scrap I could on Skye. Then it led me here, with some dead agents on my hands.” 

“They made it out. We managed to warn them just in time. None of them know it’s you. Skye didn’t want you caught in the crossfire. She cares about you.” 

“Like you do with her.” You admitted. A DING! Occurred, and your cuffs unlocked. You scoffed as you rubbed your hands, “Might not have the deepest sympathies for you guys, but you do care about her, that means something. You’ve kept her alive so far.” 

“You did good yourself. Hard to track down. If only you hadn’t gone into that SHIELD server.” There was a hint of humour in his voice. 

You looked at the file she had made on you. Taking it, you opened it up. It was like a biography, with everyone she had known about you. She also had been able to find out some of the jobs you did. 

“You know I’m still pissed she sold me out, right?” You asked.

“That’s understandable.” Coulson said.

“Call her back in, think I’ve got something for her.” 

The door opened, with Skye walking back in. She took a seat at the table. You sat with your arms in front of you, “You ready, little sibling?” She asked, this time with what - almost - sounded like hope in her voice. 

“Ready.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were taken out of your cell, looking around at the area. What you saw was people at work, some mainly in a lab. Skye just kept her eyes forward, leading you into a living area. 

In it, was Coulson and a woman around his age, “Y/N, this is May. She’s like the second in command here, just like you were for when we were in the tide.” Skye nudged you. 

You looked at her and scoffed, “I’m not fully a part of this ragtag group yet, Skye.” 

“Are you trying to do the right thing for the right reasons?” May asked you. 

“Depends on your definition of it.” You challenged. 

“Fight for the innocent.” She boiled it down to. 

You looked at your best friend before back to the others, “Yeah.” 

May nodded, sliding a laptop to the end of the table, “Use that, find us something, we’ll get geared up.” She said, walking passed you. However, as Coulson did, he gave your shoulder a pat in both a ‘thanks’, but also a ‘welcome to the team’. 

You looked at your sister figure, she shrugged, “Welcome to SHIELD.” 

You both went to the laptops, you went back to the message that got you into this in the first place. You traced it, finding a place that was abandoned. You zoomed in, giving the location to them. 

They flew there, with Skye leaving. However, before she did, she gave you a hug before she left. 

“Ok, Y/N, we’re here.” She said over the comms. You had live footage of the area. 

“Ok, the signal goes here. Just...be careful.” Was all you asked of her. 

“Of course.” She assured you, before going in. 

You had two newcomers enter the room, two british people; a man and a woman. 

“Oh, you must be Y/N. Nice to meet you, even if not under the best of circumstances. I’m Jemma.” She said, holding her hand. 

You shook it, before holding it out for the other guy, “Fitz.” He answered the silent question. 

“Is that them?” Jemma asked, taking a seat on one side of you, Fitz the other, both staring at the screen. 

“Should be.” 

“Y/N, we have a problem, it’s empty. The signal just leads to a laptop.” Skye, unfortunately, had to tell you.

“...Shit.” You fell back in your chair, face in hands. 

“Pull up the original message again?” Fitz asked. You did just so, “Look at the end,” You, again, did so, “It’s an anagram. Look, if you -- Jemma, help me.” He asked of his friend. 

“Oh, I see what you mean, Fitz. Yes, if you rearrange it, you get --” She stopped, looking at you for permission. You nodded. 

She typed in the new name you had, getting a ping, “There. They’re there.” She said, pointing to the new place. 

“Guys, we got them.” You said into the comms, giving them the new location. You shared a smile with Simmons. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You sat with Skye in Coulson’s office. He sat on the opposite side to the table, “Today was a success. And, I want to thank you for it, Y/N. Without that intel, we wouldn’t have found them.” He said with a smile. 

“I’m sure you would’ve.” 

“They’re just being modest. We appreciate it, Y/N. Really, you came through in the end.” Skye said, putting you on the shoulder. 

“Y/N, we’d like to offer you a place here. I understand you don’t agree with everything, and that’s fine. To be honest, I think we need that, now more than ever. It’ll be safer here, you’ll have company and you can do some good as you’ve always wanted to.” Coulson offered. 

“Plus, we can work together again. I mean, I’ll be out there sometimes. But...I missed my best friend.” Skye said, sincerely. 

You thought about it, the two just waiting for the answer. 

You finally looked up;

“Ok.” 

[twistedsinews]

Like Rabbits Seeking Buried Treasure Under the Moonlight

Cyberpunk 2077; Jackie/V, T-Bug, assorted others; PG-13 (AO3 Flavor)

“...point being, I think we deserve a bonus.”

The woman in the swank suit stared at her, an icy fury boiling her eyes.

“But, hey,” V remarked, the shard dangling between her fingertips, “if you don’t wanna comp us what it’s worth, we can always put it back and you can find another team willing and capable not only to take on a corp but also work outside of a fixer.”

Expression still fixed in a scowl, Lavigne glanced off. Then she turned back to the table, credit chip pinched between her thumb and forefinger. She placed it flat, and slid it across the table.

V nudged Jackie. He tore his attention away from the dancefloor below, and reached for the chip over V’s shoulder to give it a scan.

“Looks clean,” he told V.

“Of course it’s clean.” Lavigne huffed. Rising from her seat, she leaned forward to snatch the shard from V, who amicably let it slip away and brushed her thumb against her fingertips instead. “I never want to hear from you again.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” V told her quietly, as the woman faded into the crowd without a backward word.

Behind her, Jackie started to snigger. Smirking, V raised her hand and he clasped it tightly; she squeezed back before letting go. Her head lolled back against the chair, and she smiled at him before rolling to her feet.

The night was young, and they’d just gotten paid overtime.

“How the hell do you do that, anyway?” Jackie asked, as they made their way down from the balcony.

“Do what?”

“Put ideas into peoples’ heads without even saying ‘em. You had her thinking exactly what you wanted her to think.”

“I told the truth; it was her own goddamn paranoia did her in.”

“Fuck, how’d you know she’d think it was worth extra?”

“Educated guess. She was willing to go outside of a fixer to get it. And she was so worried that I’d read it she didn’t even think of you as anything but dumb hustle. Just ‘cause someone can make it in the corpo life doesn’t make ‘em any less of a gonk.”

“...you ever do that to me?”

At the bottom stair, V paused to look up at him. “Huh?”

“You know – make me think shit that’s not true.”

Staring down at her, Jackie wasn’t even offended by the notion.

Just openly curious.

V thought about it, and shrugged. “Can’t remember a time I ever needed to.”

Jackie snorted.

“What?” V scoffed. “That was a no.”

“Mhhm,” Jackie intoned.

He reached for her hand, and his fingers tangled with hers as he took the lead.

Dancing in Night City was nothing like in the badlands, V had learned early on. Even different districts, different clubs could have their own unique flair. Melding them together gave her a distinct style all her own, that shifted and changed with the mood and the music.

Jackie wasn’t quite as fluid in style, but nevertheless he improvised as best as he could and kept up with her all the same. They shared a kind of synchronicity that transferred smoothly from the battlefield to the dance floor.

A woman drifted along the far wall, circling inward as she watched them. As the night wore on, she moved right into V’s orbit.

It was almost too subtle to be called a dance, the way they circled one another on the floor. The woman moved with a refined kind of elegance, her cream-colored dress splashed with the colorful lights of the club. V found herself entranced by the pale glow of the strangers eyes.

And when Jackie got too close, the stranger stared at him icily.

Taken aback, he offered the woman a nod of understanding and a repentant smile. Meeting V’s eyes, he stepped away.

Just because they had an arrangement, didn’t make them exclusive; just because they shared didn’t mean every hookup worked out that way.

They ended up along the dark edge of the room. Pushed up against the wall, V found the peculiar glow of the woman’s eyes seemed even brighter, with the light of the bar shining like a halo behind her. Her own eyes slid closed, she tilted her face lower...

And then...

What she’d been expecting to happen, didn’t.

V blinked, at a loss, as the stranger stared at her, equally so.

Then, the woman simply turned to walk away.

V reached for her, and the woman shrugged her off. She cast a cold, blank stare over her shoulder, to which V raised her hands in a gesture of amicable peace.

The stranger slipped off into the crowd.

V cut her own path, her focus shifting back towards the dance floor, and the beating heart of the bar. There was plenty of delight left to be had, but the strangeness of the encounter, never mind the sting of the rebuff, left her feeling distant.

Instead, she made her way towards the outer landing, following the Exit sign. From there, she cast a perfunctory scan of the room.

At last, she caught sight of Jackie at the bar, a woman on either arm, each as different, at a cursory glance, as night and day, but complementing one another to a glitz perfection. He was splitting his attention between them, for all that Jackie had made himself the center of theirs; V couldn’t be sure what subject they might’ve been on, but he was energetic in telling some story or a joke while they hung off his every word in rapt attention.

With a soft sigh, V glanced away.

When she looked again, Jackie was staring right at her, vibrant expression faded.

Managing a faint smile, she held up a hand in a lackadaisical wave, meant to impart: Goodnight. Good luck. ‘Til tomorrow.

Jackie stared a moment longer, an inscrutable expression on his face as he watched her across the room, before seeming to remember he had company. He turned his mind back to them, twice as lively as before.

V tore herself away as he was kissing the brighter one’s hand.

Stepping out of the warm embrace of the bar and onto the chill night street, she breathed out a long, measured breath. Holograms and billboards cast bright shadows over the world, blotting out both the darkness and the moonlight, and despite the hour there were still a colorful assortment of people going about their business – legitimate and not.

With no destination in mind, V started down the street.

She’d only made it past a few buildings when a message flickered at the edge of her display, demanding attention.

Hold up.

Lifting her head, V blinked, and glanced behind her to find Jackie jogging to catch up. She waited for him, and only starting walking again once he’d fallen into step beside her. Quietly, at first, but when she didn’t say anything at first, he opted to fill the silence.

“After all that, didn’t work out, huh?”

V shrugged.

“Too bad. She’d been watching you the entire time we were negotiating with Lavigne, you know?”

“Since we walked in. But... hey, maybe all she wanted was a dance.” Not wanting to dwell on it, she veered onto a convergent path, “Anyway, why’d you split? Looked like you were having all the luck tonight.”

“Tch.” Jackie nudged her shoulder with his own. “Really, V, what kinda guy’d I be if I got off with twice the good fortune and let a choom walk home all by her lonesome?”

“‘Sides,” he added, “this is nearer my neighborhood, you may as well drop in.”

They walked along in comfortable silence. V’s gaze was drawn to Jackie as he moved with a confident, capable ease, though he was nevertheless weighing up every thin shadow between the buildings they passed.

Her eyes flicked lower, and her fingers brushed his hand.

All at once he was staring at her, a warm curiosity in his expression.

Casually, V glanced off.

As though the shadows between the buildings were that much more interesting than the warmth radiating from his hand, so close to hers. Movement caught in the corner of her eye, and her gaze drifted that way.

Jackie slipped away from her as her pace slowed, and he paused to turn back.

V’s sneakers scuffed the sidewalk as she stopped and blinked.

“Are rabbits common in Night City?”

“Not... that I know of. Why?”

V stared at the white little bunny rabbit, eating lettuce without a care in the goddamn world. Jackie stared at her like she'd lost her mind, or maybe dropped a tab of something she shouldn't have. “Nothing; no big deal.”

It was a bit of an absurd question. But when she looked again, the rabbit was cleaning its face, a pace or two from where it had been a moment ago. V took a step towards it, and it nonchalantly hopped away from her.

With a backwards glance at Jackie – who was still staring at her, at a loss – she took another step, and the rabbit stretched and pulled itself forward.

“You’re really not seeing this?”

With every cautious step V took behind it, the rabbit continued its leisurely way down the alley. Always, it seemed, the same distance away.

Still – she didn’t want to spook it and send it running.

Halfway down to a dead end, the rabbit turned towards the brick wall. The last V saw of it was a flash of its fluffy tail as it wriggled and vanished into the dark. Nearing where it had disappeared, she crouched down; at the base of the wall, bricks had been broken and removed, or had perhaps more simply fallen apart, and she found herself peering into a jagged hole close to the ground.

She couldn’t see into it, and scanning it turned up nothing. And so, without a second thought, V reached down into it.

“What’d you find?” Jackie asked.

V blinked up at him; he’d followed her step for step, even if he hadn’t seen the rabbit. But all she could do was shake her head.

She had no idea what it was.

Rather than soft, warm fur, her fingers found roughened, cold canvas – an old, faded military jacket stuffed in the gap. It was weighed down, and as V pulled it loose from its hiding place, the cloth unraveled around an older-style cyberdeck, at a glance not unlike the antique model she’d had to trade in when hers had stopped working.

But it was in good condition – better than hers had been. Finding its wire, she shrugged up at Jackie, and plugged it in.

A display booted across her lens, but all she could make of it endless stream of garbled data.

“It’s encrypted,” she told Jackie.

“Ah,” she winced, as her further poking around provoked a cautionary counter-spike. “Really, really encrypted.”

Tugging the wire free of her port, V handed the deck up before moving on to check the pockets of the jacket, and came up with an unlabeled shard. Slotting it gave her a momentary sense of... something as it connected and powered on, but... there was nothing on it. Nothing at all.

There was nothing else in the stash, and no sign of the rabbit at all.

Pushing up to her feet, V met Jackie’s inquisitive stare.

He flipped the deck over in his hands, and offered it back to her. Taking it, she wrapped it back up in the jacket.

“Maybe that’s enough mystery for tonight?” Jackie reasoned out loud, as V cast about the alley for anything that would give them any sort of a clue. “Already been a long day.”

V opened her mouth, but she couldn’t argue.

Not when Jackie brushed his fingers down the traces adorning her cheek. Particularly not when he brushed his thumb across her lip, and not in the least when he followed it with his mouth.

~*~

There was a squeak in the third stair from the top she hadn’t kept in mind. By some stroke of luck, it didn’t give her away as she padded down to the family room.

Jackie was sprawled on the couch, thumb pressed to his cheek and a contemplative pout on his lips as he stared off into space.

Stepping lightly, V edged around the sharp angles of the table. Her fingers slid over Jackie’s shoulder for balance as she helped herself to his lap; he roused with a soft groan, turning his head blindly towards her as his hands first skimmed her hips, then slid behind her, and his arms settled about her waist. Jackie blinked twice, the glimmer across his lens fading, only for his eyes to flutter shut as V sought his mouth with her own for a languid, unhurried kiss.

Jackie shifted beneath her, allowing her to settle more firmly against him and drawing a croon of appreciation from her throat.

The kiss broke, and V immediately claimed another – softer, shallower, but no less sweet – before they drifted apart. Opening her eyes, she found herself lost in his, and absently traced her fingers up his neck, her thumb brushing lightly over the mismatched texture of metal and skin behind his ear.

Jackie breathed in deep, and sighed a gentle little, “Oh.”

“Mmm,” V agreed. “Mornin’.”

“Afternoon, more like. You slept half the day away.”

“Mmm? What’re you reading? Anything interesting?”

“Sure.” Jackie shrugged, thinking to add, “If you enjoy poetry.”

“Frost?”

“Blake.”

“Huh.”

Pulling her lip between her teeth, V tangled her fingers in the hem of his shirt, giving it a gentle tug to free it from being tucked. Jackie chuckled, catching one of her hands to stop her from fussing with his belt, and braced her with his other arm as he sat up straighter.

“Alright, how about,” he suggested, with a soft kiss to the heel of her palm to sweeten the deal, “I go and I make you breakfast ‘fore we go and we get started on dessert, hmm?”

With his arm still around her, V held on as he stood, and dropped gracefully to her feet to pad after him as he made his way into the kitchen.

The kitchen was kept, clean, and stocked as it always was. V watched with rapt attention as Jackie dug out and set to work on a selection of fresh vegetables – how Señora managed that feat, V felt she would never know – and tofu protein.

Jackie glanced her way but didn’t admonish her when she stole a slice of toast from a half-built plate, and nibbling kept V occupied long enough for him to finish. She followed him right back out to the family room, where he set the food down on the table for her.

Almost burning her mouth on the first bite, V hissed sharply, and Jackie paused on his way back to the kitchen.

“Jesús, V,” he chuckled. “Give it a moment to cool, yeah?”

She picked away at it, blowing on bites even while it was almost too hot, and he was back again soon enough – a soy drink in one hand and a bottle capped with a shotglass in the other. Seating himself beside her, Jackie slid the first her way, keeping the latter for himself.

Realizing the discrepancy, V blinked.

“You’re not having any?”

“Already ate, chica.”

She jabbed a forkful towards him. “You want some?”

“Nope,” he assured her. “All for you.”

Shoving the food into her mouth, V murmured something around it that might’ve been intended as a word. Jackie smirked at her, pouring himself a shot of tequila.

“So... uh... this thing with seeing rabbits...”

“It was one rabbit.” V stabbed a cube of fried potato. “Maybe I was drunk.”

“Didn’t see you touch a drop last night; how drunk could you have gotten?”

“Maybe I was high.”

“And were you high, V?”

“...no.” V pushed food around on her plate before taking another bite. “Maybe it was just a rabbit.”

“In Night City?” Jackie sighed. “Just thinkin’ out loud here, but maybe it’s time you oughta drop in on Vik. Make sure everything’s workin’ as it should be.”

She stilled, staring at him.

Then swallowed.

“Yeah... maybe,” she assented. “After dessert, though.”

Jackie paused, with the glass barely having tipped towards his mouth.

“Claro que sí,” he acquiesced.

~*~

“Hmm.”

Fidgeting on his table, V rolled her head towards him. Vik had just gotten done telling her how unlikely a problem seemed, and now it was Hmm?

He glanced over at her, then back to his display, and shook his head.

“There’s some garbled data in your system.”

“Meaning...?”

“I’m not sure. Doesn’t look like it could be much of anything.”

Her eyebrows drew together as V stared at him.

“Think in terms of script at its most basic. Binary. Ones and zeros. It looks like some of the zeros got flipped to ones, but at complete random. No pattern behind it. There’s not even enough of it to make anything – a few bytes at most. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“So it’s... not a virus or some daemon that put it there, it’s just... a glitch?”

“There’s nothing else in your software or your hardware. Everything came back running as it should be.” Viktor’s mouth pulled into a frown as he thought about it, “It might indicate your cyberdeck is starting to deteriorate, but the odds on that are long. Militech makes good hardware, and this deck is still practically new.”

“Yeah, and I still got a warranty, right?”

His expression softened, and Vik didn’t quite smile at the joke.

“I could delete it for you? See if it comes back?”

“I could delete it myself, if it turns out to be nothing. Now that I know it’s there.”

“You sure?”

“I kinda wanna know what it is. What it means... if anything.”

Vik conceded with a subtle nod. V reached to pull her link cable free, and he shut down his display. He slid his hand behind her back to support her as she started to sit up.

“If I had to guess, I’d say what it means is be more careful when jacking into random, unmarked terminals.”

She had one foot on the ground, and his hand lingered on her arm as she met his stare, head cocked.

“What about that cyberdeck I found?”

“It’s encrypted. Whatever’s on it, I don’t have the means to decrypt it. Best I could do is reset it for you. It’s in good shape, I’m sure I could get it working like new, but anything on it – if it’s anything of value – would be gone.”

“And the rabbit...?”

Vik shrugged.

“Maybe you saw a rabbit.”

“That Jackie didn’t. And that led me right to the deck and then disappeared.”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Sounds a little like Alice in Wonderland.”

V blinked.

Vik’s eyebrows raised.

Both of them glanced at Misty, who draped herself over the arm of Vik’s table and flicked her eyes between them.

“By Lewis Carroll? Jackie has a copy.” She thought about it, leaning her cheek against her hand, and added, “Or he used to. He let me borrow it once.”

Thinking on it a moment longer, V sighed deeply, then turned her attention back to Vik.

“What do I owe you?”

“Peace of mind,” Vik replied. “But scans are always free.”

~*~

“Misty usually knows what she’s talking about,” Jackie told her.

They sat at a stall in Kabuki market over lunch, and V absorbed half of what he was saying, but she was full of good food and the sun was warm on her skin. And if Vik had said it was next to nothing to worry about, well... why worry.

Propping her chin on her knuckles, V glanced off into the thick of the it, gaze wandering across the colorful assortment of stalls and goods for sale. Nothing she felt obligated to buy, but an eclectic selection all the same.

Her eyes narrowed.

“...uh, V?”

She heard him.

Barely.

But her eyes were locked on the rabbit. A scan came up empty, and as it hopped around the corner of the nearest stall, V slipped out of her seat.

With carefree ease, it made its way through the market.

V crept after it, her pace slowed by the bustle of the crowd.

The rabbit ignored her and continued on, disappearing up a walkway without her when she got caught in a particularly thick crowd. Working her way through, she hurried up a level to catch up with it – only to see it’s tail disappear around the curve of the building once she reached the top.

On the upper level of the rotunda, V found the rabbit sitting in front of a door, scrubbing its face with its paws.

“This?” V asked.

The rabbit offered no response, and she glanced up at the sign. She looked down again, and around; the rabbit was nowhere in sight.

Waving her hand over the panel, she opened the door and stepped through.

It was a small shop, but majestic by market standards – a pair of netrunner chairs for public rent in the back, a selection of arcade games... and all the goods that must have been kept behind the counter, or in cyberspace.

The woman manning the counter regarded V coolly as she wandered in. Endeavoring to put up a good front and act, at least, less lost than she felt, V marched right up to the counter. Placing her hands flat, she leaned into it, smiling brightly.

“I’m here to pick something up,” V said. “For...” a rabbit, “...someone. I think.”

The woman behind the counter merely continued to stare at her.

V scratched the back of her neck.

“For... Alice?” she ventured, “Like in Wonderland?”

The woman’s eyes flicked over V’s shoulder, and V followed her gaze to find Jackie moving to stand close behind her.

“Try White Rabbit?” he suggested. “Dinah? Dormouse? Jabberwocky?”

“Maybe...” V tried, “Lewis Carroll?”

It was like attempting to figure out someone’s password. The woman’s bland customer service stare had begun to slip into a look of irritation, as though they were playing some kind of joke.

“Cheshire Cat?” Jackie guessed.

Several uncomfortable seconds ticked by. V dropped to her elbows against the counter, at a complete loss, with the woman now glaring outright, and Jackie slipped his fingers around V’s arm.

“Ah. Apologies, señorita, I think we got the wrong ‘runner shop.”

With a gentle tug, he pulled V away from the counter, and she trailed along after him as he led her out of the shop. He only let go once they were outside, a few paces down the catwalk.

There, he stared down at her, mouth quirked in less of a smile than in complete bewilderment.

“Mind me askin’, What the fuck?”

“Not in the least; I’ve been asking myself that all morning.”

~*~

Her console flickered on. A black screen and a blinking white command line cursor, and nothing else. Lifting her head from her desk, V stared at it, blearily.

Words flashed across the screen.

Who are you?

V sat up a little straighter in her chair, and scrubbed her eyes.

Curiosity won over confusion.

Tentatively, she typed a reply.

The first thing to come to mind.

Who is anybody?

A pause, then followed,

Neither a rhetorical question, nor a riddle. Tell me your name.

V

V?

Just V.

Link in.

V stared at the words on the screen.

This was the part of her life where being reckless often got her into trouble.

Sometimes, at least, she was aware of it.

In the pause that followed, another word appeared.

Please.

V swallowed. She pulled her neural link free of its cradle, and jacked it into the terminal’s port. She felt... something. A little like linking in to another person and a lot like getting scanned.

You’ll have to do.

“Um. Thanks?” V ventured out loud. She left the cable linked in, for all that she opted to type her replies.

What is going on?

I need you to go to Kabuki market. There’s a netrunner kiosk there. There’s data in their servers I need you to retrieve.

If you’re the one that’s been jerking me around, I was there this afternoon. I don’t think they like me very much.

I’m not jerking anyone around.

Before V could reply, the next line jolted down her back like ice.

I need help.

I have access codes. No one should be there.

Do not trust anyone.

V’s next sentences came slow.

You should know, that’s going to be difficult for me.

I don’t work alone. I have a partner. I trust him very much.

There was a pause before the mystery answered.

Valentino?

Yes.

Don’t involve him.

“Fuck you,” V told the screen, incredulously.

Please.

I need you to find me.

I can’t hold out much longer.

V rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, peering over the back of her hand, there was a single word on the screen.

Help.

“Yeah.” V sighed. “Alright. I heard you.”

Back to Kabuki?

~*~

Kabuki at night only resembled Kabuki during the day.

The merchandise had changed over completely in the hours between, and in the darkness there was much the illusion – if not the reality – that one could find anything.

A distinct flourish of color caught her eye as she turned a corner – an older man, selling nothing less than flowers out of a stall. On another, more leisurely night, V might have stopped and browsed. It wasn’t the first thing to catch her eye, but it was perhaps the most eye-catching.

Tonight, she wove through the evening crowd, once more making her way to the upper rotunda.

The door was locked, its indicator dim.

Narrowing her eyes, V cracked the lock, and the door slid open.

She slipped inside, intuitively pressing herself into the shadows once she was past the threshold. The shop was empty at this hour, and, creeping through the dark, V vaulted over the counter and cracked the door to the back room.

There were several servers running, assorted status lights and screens casting a soft glow over the room. A console drew her attention, and V found a jack to plug into.

For several long moments, she sat still – watching her display and listening to the soft hum of the mainframe as she waited for some connection to be made.

At long last, V fidgeted.

A data packet uploaded to her system.

She didn’t have time to unpack and go over it in detail before a sound got her attention. Another door whispering open, different to the one she’d come in, and V slipped out before whoever it was could stumble across her.

Slipping quickly as she could the long way around the counter, a step ahead of them, V bolted out the shop’s door, onto the rotunda catwalk, and kept on running.

~*~

Her door slid open.

Jolted from her thoughts, V sat up straight.

Jackie poked his head through, offering her a wave and a bright smile when he found her at her desk before stepping through. V pulled herself up from her chair, and stepped around the partition that separated her desk from the rest of the room to meet him.

“¿Qué onda?”

The words that slipped out of her mouth were first that came to mind.

“I was not expecting you here tonight.”

They were overtly blunt, and did nothing to cover her. It was obvious in the way that Jackie cocked his head, eyebrows knit together.

“Had a thing with Vik. Figured while I was in the neighborhood I may as well drop by.”

Smile blooming in full splendor, Jackie offered her a rose.

Taken aback, V blinked at it.

Eyes narrowing at him, she reached for it slowly.

Not a real rose, not up close – the silky petals were made of some kind of synthetic micro-velvet, in an striking array of red and blue, overlapping into one another. Its green leaves and stem hewn closer to the illusion of a plant, but nonetheless still soft under her fingertips.

And even synthetic, the rose still had thorns, for all that they were encased in velvet.

“What’s this you’re working on?”

“Ah.” V turned to find him staring at her terminal screen.

Fuck.

“It’s... something... I was looking into. For someone. Asked me to.”

“Looks familiar...” Jackie mused. He glanced back at her, “Hey, isn’t this the place we broke into the other day?”

V’s gaze was drawn to the map.

“...is it?”

“Maybe not the same floor, but I think that’s the same address.”

He’d barely finished the sentence before V killed the display with a flick of her fingers.

Which only served to bring the full weight of Jackie’s perplexed stare down on her.

V’s gaze fell to the flower in her hands. She twisted it by the stem between her fingertips, watching the petals shiver as they moved.

A small piece of art.

Jackie’s fingers brushed against her temple, and her breath caught in her throat. V leaned into the soft touch as he threaded her hair back behind her ear.

“You know, I...” She breathed out a shaky little sigh. “I’m glad you stopped by. Everything was feeling all...”

It was an honest truth.

Even if it was only a fraction of another.

A deep chuckle rumbled in Jackie’s chest. V dragged her gaze up to meet his.

“For a moment there, thought you were gonna say...” His smirk faded, and he glanced off. “Uh. Yeah. No matter.”

Reaching for his fingers, V let the rose slip from her hand into a glass on the desk. His other hand was already sliding over her hip as she pressed his palm to her mouth, eyes drifting closed, and his fingers skimmed down her chin to tilt her face upward.

Her eyes cracked open again to find him staring, mouth set in a solemn expression that seemed far out of place as he studied her face. Before she could read too far into it, the corner of his mouth quirked, and a slow smile spread across his.

Smiling now herself, V blinked as he kissed her forehead, which was followed by a kiss to her cheek, and another to her chin. He yanked her closer, and she gave a sharp gasp of surprise right against his mouth.

~*~

She was comfortable and warm, and a slow, rhythmic breathing lulled her heart gently.

A small spike of electricity jolted up her spine.

Fuck!

V hadn’t intended to fall asleep.

Squirming, she tried to extricate herself from his embrace without jostling Jackie awake, only for her arm to get held back by a taut pressure on her wrist. Reaching behind her, she followed the tension in her link cable to unplug it from his neural port by touch.

Perceiving a glimpse of the data it was feeding her just before it vanished from her display, V froze, her cable retracting with a soft, audible click as though to punctuate the snag.

Jackie’s arms tightened around her, his mouth soft against the back of her neck sending a shiver coursing through her.

His vitals were hot.

He was wide awake.

“You gonna tell me what it is that’s going on,” he murmured, “or... I gotta make you scream s’more for that?”

“Fuck.”

“Mmm.”

Jackie was warm.

Her bed was warm.

His breath was warm.

That little flutter in her belly in response to his gently scraping across the apex of her jaw with his teeth was warm.

Someone out there needed her help.

“Can’t,” V mumbled at last, wiggling her way out of his grip. She slid her legs out over the edge of the bed, and pressed her hands into her face. “Shit to do.”

“Está bien,” Jackie sighed. He eased past her out of bed, and started picking through their clothes get dressed. “Guess I get to find out when we get there. No es gran cosa.”

“We?”

“You gonna run off into the wild blue yonder chasing rabbits, I’m sure as fuck gonna tag along make sure you don’t trip and disappear down any rabbit holes.”

V rose to her feet as he stepped into his pants.

“Look. I’ve been in Night City long enough – and you’ve taught me enough – that I know what I’m doing. I can take care of myself.”

“Mira. And do you know what it is what you’re doing?”

V stated evenly, and with full confidence, “Not in the fucking least.”

“Exactly my point, V.”

Staring at the floor, V swallowed.

Grabbing up her clothes, one by one, from where they’d fallen, she retreated into her storage room to get dressed. And, more importantly, to strap together her kit.

Stepping out again, she went straight for her terminal, ignoring Jackie as he lurked around behind her.

The shard was missing from the computer’s port.

With a slow, meticulous sigh, V straightened up. She held her hand open over her shoulder, and Jackie pressed the shard into her palm.

“Someone asked for my help,” she told him. “Kept anonymous so far. I really don’t know anything more than that. Just what you saw, and coordinates.”

“They offering you any money?”

“No.”

She slotted the shard. No better place for it, really.

“Sounds suspicious as hell.” Jackie waited until she’d turned around to face him to ask, “Do you really wanna walk into this alone?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” V stated. But that wasn’t the whole conflicting truth. “And I’d feel better having you at my back.”

“¿Cuánto mejor?”

“A lot.”

“Eso lo resuelve. We rollin’ or what?”

~*~

V’s coordinates, once they untangled the right set from the jumble of data, led them out to the badlands.

Straight to a worn hatch dug in the rock beneath their feet, under the moonlight.

“I don’t have any idea of what we’re gonna find down there.”

“No sense standing around, then, is there?” Jackie told her. “Let’s go down and find out.”

V sighed.

Then nodded.

The hatch opened smoothly, without a sound. Down the ladder hidden below it, it opened into an empty, well-lit security checkpoint, guarding a lone door.

Stepping up to the door, V happened to glance down, only to find the rabbit sitting at her feet.

On impulse, she crouched down beside it, thinking it might hop away... but it didn’t. She expected her fingers to pass right through it, like a hologram. Instead, its fur was soft under her fingertips. It scrubbed its face and sat up on its haunches, and for the first time seemed to take notice of the fact that she was there next to it.

Incredulous, V smiled.

Then she remembered Jackie was standing right there beside her. Staring down at her like she might’ve lost it; a mix of confusion and concern playing across his face that he was struggling to keep in check. Straightening up, she looked at him, and shrugged.

“I guess... this is our place.”

Jackie glanced up the ladder, and around at the guard station around them. No one had followed them down, not that they expected that; but stranger still, no one was down here already and no alarms had been tripped.

None that they knew of.

V glanced at the rabbit, still there. She reached for the door’s panel; it slid open, and the rabbit meandered through ahead of them.

Strange, how it wasn’t even locked.

Beyond the door was a dimly lit corridor.

Ahead of them, the rabbit wove from wall to wall, leading them onward into the warren of hallways beyond.

Or leading V onward, as Jackie merely followed her.

A more grim discovery lurked within the darkened halls, where they stumbled across a body – armored, but lifeless. And soon enough another. After a few more, clustered together, one of which might’ve been a scientist or a board director, Jackie stopped to inspect one of them more closely.

“These people can’t have been dead longer than a couple of days.” He wondered out loud, “I know life is cheap, but isn’t it kinda weird that no one came down here to check on any of them?”

V didn’t have an answer for him.

Not a real one, anyhow.

Ahead of them, the rabbit sat and cleaned its face.

Their path wound still deeper into the complex.

V’s thoughts turned inward.

What was there here for them to find?

Who would it help, and how?

What were they even doing down here?

The rabbit thumped.

An illusory warning, which nevertheless brought V up short. She saw the danger the moment she did, only for Jackie to wrap his arms around her and pull her out of harm’s potential way. The rabbit had bolted for cover behind one of the elaborate planters posted at intervals along the hallway, opposite the one were now crouched behind.

Ahead of them, a crew of maybe a dozen heavily armored soldiers, clustered at the end of the hall. One was working on a security door with a torch. Two were standing by. The rest were milling about uneasily

Looks like they’re trying to cut through to whatever’s in there., V flicked to the man over her shoulder.

Bet you it’s the same thing we’re after, whatever that is., hit her display a moment later. You got a map of this place, too? Flick me a copy.

V did as he asked, and almost imperceptible, Jackie shifted beside her, obscuring his eyes to hide the glow of his lens. He gave her shoulder an amicable pat, and stepped out into the corridor.

“Wait, what...?” V tried to ask, the words a breath on her lips and spoken to late.

“¡Cogé a cada una de tus madres y a tus padres cogé dos veces!”

Having brought all due attention down on his head, Jackie turned and bolted back the way they had come, bellowing a boisterous laugh as he did.

It was only luck and timing with which V slipped around the planter, out from under the gaze of a soldier glancing back, and as two men left behind – the one cutting through, the other his guard – turned their attention back to the door.

Great plan, Jack, V was tempted to send after him.

Not that she had a better one.

She stifled it, focusing on the task at hand.

Stepping up silently behind the guard, V caught her arm around his throat and prayed he would go down before he could send a message to his buddies.

He went slack in her arms, and the other man didn’t seem to notice.

A good sign.

The power tool posed a challenge – scanning it, V found a weak link and short-circuited its connection to the powercell. When the man stood, she leapt at him out of the darkness to slam his forehead against the door, knocking him cold as well.

V sighed.

The rabbit crouched at the door as she pulled the battery from the cutting tool, and used it to restore emergency power to the keypad. Whatever programs had been loaded onto the Kabuki packet autobooted to work their magic, and the door slid open with a screech of warped metal.

Dim light spilled out.

When she looked down, the rabbit was gone again.

The room beyond was half-powered. Emergency lights still hummed above her head, brighter than the ones in the hall, as she passed under them, but there was also the deeper hum of more sensitive electronics. Taking it in, V found herself standing in a netrunner station – a single chair in the center of the room, surrounding by an array of databanks and consoles and screens, with even more databanks stacked deep along the walls.

There was a woman in the netrunner chair, eyes closed and inert.

Biting her lip, V concentrated on what looked to be the main console. She linked in to it, and whatever command or access she was carrying seemed to... do... something, as some of the screens flashed to life, and the fluorescent lights overhead buzzed to life.

An unmarked text message flickered across her display, demanding her attention.

Retaining bolt.

“Um?”

As V stood there, at a loss, another message appeared.

Back of the chair. Slides across.

She glanced at the woman in the chair as she circled it, examining closer. Finding what she thought must have been it, she fussed with the lateral bolt until it scratched and slid from one side of its mooring to the other.

Something disconnected, and as soon as V had pulled the bolt, the netrunner stirred. She groaned as she struggled to sit up, and V sprung to her feet to support her as she detached one wire after the next. Fully disconnected, she wavered a bit in V’s hold, and perhaps thinking better of it, sank back into the chair.

“...water?”

V frowned.

She hadn’t thought to bring water.

But had she...?

Stepping back, she dug through her bag in search of any that might have happened along for the trip. Instead, she unearthed a soft nutrient packet. Unsealing it and uncapping the built-in straw, she pressed into the woman’s hands, letting go only when she was certain it wouldn’t fall from them once she did.

Raising it to her mouth without even looking at it, the woman pulled a tentative sip. She pulled a face at the flavor, side-eyeing V as she did, but continued to drink the thick mixture anyway.

“It’s pomegranate black cherry,” V stated helpfully.

“It’s goddamn corn syrup,” the woman groused back.

“Yeah...” V agreed cheerfully, “But it’s artificially sweetened to taste like what some corpo-mandated algorithm has determined pomegranate and black cherry mixed together tastes like. And the date’s still good – ‘cause that shit’ll last well into the next century.”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“And, uh...” V pulled the jacket she’d found out of her bag, along with the cyberdeck. “I think this is yours?”

She offered it to the woman, who stared at it coolly.

“...yeah,” she said after a moment, taking it from V. “Thanks.”

With a distinct lack of enthusiasm, she left the entire thing in her lap as she focused instead on sucking down the fruity meal replacement corn syrup.

Moments ticked by in awkward silence. V walked along the perimeter marked off by the consoles, drumming her fingers on the metal casings, and the woman eyed her all the while.

Before V could think of a suitable topic to broach the silence, a message flickered on her lens.

Hope you’ve found what you’re looking for, chica, ‘cause I could use a hand whenever you got a moment.

Her blood ran cold.

“Fuck,” she swore out loud.

Jackie wasn’t asking for help, he was just... asking for help.

That didn’t bode well.

Finding the woman staring at her, V explained, “I gotta delta – my partner might be in trouble.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “The guy I explicitly told you not to bring along?”

“Yeah, well – he’s stubborn,” V defended. “And to be fair I don’t think I could have gotten down here without him; we ran into another team down here trying to get to you and he opted to run a decoy. On his behalf, You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Motherfucker.”

Taking a thick slurp off the packet, the woman sought out of the cyberdeck in her lap. She plugged them into the jack on her arm, and strapped the cuff around her wrist.

“So, yeah,” V said, starting for the door, “gotta go.”

After a thought, V paused to turn back. “And... um, I guess you should know where my apartment is; Megabuilding H-Ten, oh-seven-sixteen – feel free to grab whatever you need out of it once you get out of here.”

“Wait.” Patting down her pockets until she found it, the woman pulled the blank shard from her jacket. She slotted it, and V hesitated, glancing at the door.

A handful of moments later, she slipped the shard free, and held it out.

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

“Trust me.” The netrunner shrugged. “Or don’t.”

~*~

V dashed down the halls, following Jackie’s signal. She barely slowed coming around the corner where he was pinned down, and slid her knife free from its sheath.

None of the soldiers were paying her any mind, too focused on the displaced Valentino in their midst.

Jackie was kicking up a fuss: machete in one hand, gun in the other, with a modicum of cover in an old office and a barrage of increasingly petty insults.

They might’ve wanted him alive. To know how he knew about this place, or whatever intel Corporate liked to know about trespassers on their top-secret bases.

V held no such regard for their benefit.

Their armor was comprehensive, so she focused on the weakest spot she could fathom, and jammed her knife into the soft gap between the helmet and the shoulders of the first man she reached. He went down in a gurgle of blood, and her sudden arrival caught the rest of the lot by surprise.

As soon as he realized she was there, Jackie leapt into the fray with her, firing at one of the men and bringing another to his knees with enough force to crack bone as he twisted between them to reach her.

Between the two of them, an easy half of the soldiers were down before they wound up back to back, surrounded in the cramped hallway. The rest began to spasm and collapse one after the other around them as their implants seized up and overloaded, burning them from within.

For Jackie, the fight went on a moment longer, until he realized for good there wasn’t anyone else left standing. He raised an eyebrow at the still-twitching bodies.

“Ah...” He turned to V. “Neat trick. Hope you got what you came here for,” he told her again, adding, “‘cause I think they called for backup.”

“Reinforcements are on their way, I suggest you find an exit now.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” V answered them, one after the next, “Hey, what about you?”

Jackie blinked at her, before the realization dawned on his face that she wasn’t talking to him.

“Already way ahead of you.”

“Yeah, alright,” V replied, before glancing up at Jackie. “Time to leave.”

“Pase,” Jackie agreed, with a sweep of his arm.

With no rabbit to guide them, they followed the map. It cut them a swift path to the security gate, and they escaped back into the desert.

~*~

The closest thing to a rendezvous was V’s apartment, and the netrunner wasn’t there waiting for them.

For a few moments, V thought she might have been. The door glitched, refusing at first to open, but everything seemed as she and Jackie had left it – the bed unmade, the room lived in, in a hurry.

In the end, it might have been wishful thinking. V realized she wouldn’t have been able to tell, one way or the other.

Once it was obvious they were alone, Jackie had shed his machete and made himself right at home on her couch.

V followed him, slowly, and was still trying to determine if – maybe – that one can of cream tangerine dream in particular had been open and empty when they’d left when he leaned forward to wrap his arms around her and pull her onto his lap.

“All’s well that ends well, huh?”

V shifted around in his arms, and he kept her steady as she found her balance, knees to one side of him as she draped across his chest, leaning into his shoulder.

“Has it ended well?” she asked.

Jackie’s eyebrows raised in question. Her fidgeting stopped. “I thought... you might be pissed off.”

“You kidding?”

“Not really, no.”

“V, you tried to seduce me as a means to a deception. That’s like somethin’ I would do. I love it to think that I might be a bad influence on you.”

V snorted. “Other way around, maybe.”

“Maybe. But, uh....” Shifting under her, Jackie shrugged. “Anything else you might wanna let me in on, while we’re on the subject?” He brushed her cheek with his thumb, then his hand dropped lower, where he toyed with the neck of her shirt. “Little secrets? Heartfelt confessions?” Smirking, he flicked his gaze up to meet her eyes. “Any other shit you might’ve been holding out on me?”

V pressed her tongue into the corner of her mouth as she considered the question.

“I thought it must be obvious,” she remarked.

“Hrmm?”

Dipping her head, she nuzzled his jaw.

He tilted his face towards her and their lips brushed together as she pulled only near enough away that their eyes again met. Stretching just that far, Jackie enticed her back down until her mouth was pressed firmly against his, with his fingers tangled her hair.

The television screen flickered to life, emitting a soft, crackling hum.

V paid it little mind; Jackie, even less.

“...am I interrupting?”

They broke apart, V casting about for the source of the voice and Jackie tensing outright, his fingers digging into her shoulder as he assessed the danger of a threat that wasn’t there.

Or... was maybe not a threat to them, anyway.

“Mmm, tal vez un poco,” Jackie answered her, while V stared mutely at the screen. “Wanna try back in an hour?”

The woman depicted on it hrrmphed.

“The name’s T-Bug. I wanted to thank you for your assistance earlier.”

“I’m happy we got there in time.”

“Trust me, so am I.” In the brief pause that followed, the woman seemed to arrange her thoughts. “Listen, I...” she explained, haltingly guarded, “Recently... I’ve hit upon some hard times, and my resources are limited right now. I can’t exactly pay you back for what you’ve done for me, but I’d still like to find a way to even things out.”

“Sometimes it’s not about the payoff.”

V started to slide off Jackie’s chest as he jolted up straighter. Eyes locked on the screen, he slipped an arm over her to catch her on reflex, and she got a hand on the couch to prop herself back up.

“Hey... you...” he jabbed a finger at the screen, eyes narrow. “Not to interrupt, but I feel like I know you from somewhere. Did we, uh... Have we... met... before all this?”

“Yes.”

“Ah.” Jackie fidgeted beneath her, and V followed the conversation raptly between him and the woman on the screen. “Sorry, if I, uh... can’t remember every little detail...”

“I was hired on for cybersecurity. Consulting job. You showed up out of literal nowhere and punched my client in the jaw. Tracking you down after the fact wasn’t really worth anyone’s time or money.”

“¡Ay! That... must’ve been it. Now that you bring it up.” Under his breath, he breathed a quieter, “Gracias a Dios.”

T-Bug seemed to regard him for moment more, then her attention visibly shifted.

“V.”

“Mhhm?”

“I’ll contact you later when I’m better situated.”

“Guess you already know where to find me.”

“Yeah. In the meanwhile, I’ll let you get back to... what you were doing.”

The television screen flickered off again.

Jackie continued to stare at it, until V combed her fingertips through his hair and she felt him start beneath her.

“Ah. Right.” Jackie cleared his throat. “What were we doin’ again?”

Biting back a smirk, V offered a hapless shrug. “Not sure I remember.”

“Guess we’ll just have to do this, then.”

The way his arm tightened around her was all the warning she got when all at once he twisted, rolling her onto the couch beneath him with a deep chuckle at her surprised squeak.

~*~

“Where’s your friend?”

“Honest?” V answered wryly, “In hiding.”

“...in hiding?”

T-Bug met her easy smile with open skepticism.

It only made V’s smile grow deeper.

“I think he might be worried that you’re gonna hack his dick.”

Hands slowing as she worked, T-Bug regarded V for a long moment, then scoffed with a shake her head.

V leaned over the chair, watching her wire her space. The apartment was barely more than a room, smaller than V’s, and the assorted half-built array of netrunning equipment took up half the floor space, and a sliding partition wall separating the net space from the rest of the living space made it feel even smaller.

“Isn’t this place a little cramped?”

“You don’t need much space when you’ve got cyberspace.”

Sitting back, T-Bug scratched her eyebrow. “So, I managed to, uh... I called in some old favors, scraped together a few eddies; it’s not much, but it should cover the food I took from your apartment. It’s on the counter.”

“From the looks of things, I think you need it more than I do.”

T-Bug’s eyes widened, a glance slowly pulled V’s way. “Generous of you.”

She sighed, brushing off her hands as she got to her feet, and fixed her stare on V.

“Hey. Who are you, really?” she asked. “The letter V alone is impossible to find a data trail on; what’s the real name?”

“V is my real name. In its entirety. I rode with the Bakkers, before the clan fell apart.”

“And now you do mercwork in Night City?”

“It’s a living. And I occasionally rescue netrunners from...” V trailed off as her gaze fell on the chair, and she realized she still didn’t know. “What the hell was all that, anyway? Why did they have you locked in like that?”

The expression on T-Bug’s face soured.

“From what I managed to piece together when I was in their network, some kind of AI research,” T-Bug indulged her, “I don’t know the detes. Typical corpo overlord wanna-be bullshit.”

“You don’t think anyone’ll come after you?”

“I hope they’ll have learned their lesson the first time. And, with respect? I’m trying to put it behind me.”

V took the hint.

And felt a twinge of regret for having asked

Standing straighter, she gave the chair a pat.

“Guess I should let you... finish... setting up all this...”

It looked pretty set up, but V didn’t know much about netrunning tech, aside from the few tricks she’d picked up in trade.

“Mmm,” T-Bug intoned.

V started for the door, pausing at the threshold as T-Bug’s drifted after her.

“Hey, V?”

V looked back to find screens flickering on. Standing amidst the cluttered display of cyber-tech that was her element, T-Bug smiled at her... for all that it looked a little forced. “I’ll be in touch.”

Smiling back, V nodded a goodbye.

The door slid closed behind her; the indicator on the panel reading it to be locked.

V followed the faded carpet running the length of the hallway towards the stairs, to make her way out onto the streets. There, she rolled her shoulders as she picked a direction at random, her smile had faded a touch, but didn’t vanish.

She had no destination in mind.

It was nearing midnight, and the city was still wide awake.

[fandom-necromancer]

Fond memories

This was prompted on the Cyberpunk discord by Inquisitive! Hope you enjoy!

Fandom: Cyberpunk 2077 | Ship: V/Johnny

When V arrived at the narrow street the client had specified to meet up at, they were a little over an hour early. They had planned in more time for scouting the place first as usual, but that had taken them less time than first anticipated. The street was almost deserted, the whole area around it filled with apartments that were inhabited by those who could afford the city – neither poor nor rich but also the part of the population with the lowest crime rate. The small market next to it made it the perfect place to have an undisturbed talk while still keeping a low profile to any onlookers.

All in all, it meant waiting for V. Not one of their favourite activities, but also not the worst that could have happened here. They found a crate on the ground that looked at least mostly clean and  sat down, leaning back and absent-mindedly keeping an eye out for any person approaching or looking their way. They were sitting there for about ten minutes, when suddenly a familiar feeling smell wafted over. They couldn’t quite pinpoint where it was coming from, but they felt their stomach grumble as it was definitely the smell of freshly cooked food. They had smelled it before, but couldn’t remember in what context, only that it must have been a happy occasion as the memory of it was fond and V smiled faintly.

As if to interrupt that momentary happiness, Johnny appeared out of nowhere. V had been ready to sink back in on themselves, sigh and wait for the cocky bastard to disappear again, but something threw them off. Johnny wasn’t looking at them for once but towards the market with a similarly fond smile. V shook their head and groaned. ‘Is that one of your memories again?’ ‘Could be’, the engram answered absent-mindedly. ‘You may not know it, but not far from here there was a snack stall once that smelled just like that. Best food in Night city.’ V took in the scent more intentionally and frowned. ‘No, actually I think I do. Used to crash there a few times as a kid’ ‘We should go see if it’s still the same’, Johnny suggested, and V could feel his excitement.

V thought about it but shrugged and stood up in the end. They still had time until the client would be here and for once Johnny didn’t curse left and right. So, V followed the construct to the little shop, really not more than a snack bar with a few small tables. It was far from cosy but promised a refuge if you stumbled through the city drunk at 3 AM. And the food smelled heavenly.

V sat down on one of the bar stools at the counter and Johnny joined them on the empty one besides them. Looking at the menu, V smiled as their eyes fell on the mid-prized ramen they used to eat as a teenager running the streets unknowing their dangers and feeling like the world belonged to them. As they still had dreams and completely confident, they would reach them. ‘Sounds like a good time.’ V looked at the ghost next to them disbelievingly. Something genuinely nice coming from him of all persons? ‘Yeah, I know. Shocking’, he huffed and pointed over the counter. ‘Someone wants to take your order, V.’

They looked up and threw the woman an apologetic smile, ordering their food and watching how it was freshly made. Well as fresh as it was possible with mass produced noodles of unclear origin and scop-paste mixed into the soup to give it at least some nutritional value. But it was far better than the kibble from their childhood and that might be mostly why they remembered the smell so intensely. ‘I used to come here too. When I was still alive.’ V didn’t really indulge him with an answer, but at the same time didn’t show him where to stick those words, so quiet listening was already better than most of their talks. ‘Back when Samurai was still just a small band begging to play in some shady bar. We only just started and used to crash here after a gig. Good times.’ V received their bowl and plucked some chopsticks to start eating. It wasn’t good by any means objective, but nostalgia and the memories it brought up from two lives did their part making it the best goddamn ramen they had ever eaten. ‘Hard to think you consider something “good times” when you didn’t get to blow up something’, V commented while hastily eating only pausing to chew. ‘Music is…’ Johnny shook his head and looked away to the street. ‘Ah, fuck, why am I even bothering explaining it to some braindead merc, literally a living corpse…’

V sighed. They knew Johnny was just a program, the remnants of a person invading their brain and killing them slowly but surely. But it was easy to forget when the Rockstar-slash-terrorist sat next to them, his memories sometimes as vivid to them as if they were their own. V felt the way Johnny thought of his music: A desperate attempt at venting what the corporations had done to him? Maybe, but also a means of rebellion in a world that didn’t care, that crushed a single person and their needs like an ant on their path to money, fame and power. Johnny was an asshole. Someone who – ironically similar to the corpos – put himself first, the rest of the world second. He was someone who was blinded by their rage and vengeance and narcistic worldview. But somewhere, on a deeper level, V understood him. ‘Must feel like I’m fucking with your head if you come to that conclusion.’ It was spoken drily, but his tone had changed to something a tidbit more friendly. Or tired? ‘Well, no one knows how this shit works’, V commented. ‘Could be you already overwrote my mind. Could be that even a bad person can have logical reasons for their actions.’ ‘Talking philosophy, V? Looks bad on you. People that do so usually have a brain and use it.’ ‘Shut up.’

And there they were again. Shoved into a dead end of silence, left to their own thoughts that were automatically broadcasted to the other with only their unwillingness to speak about it as a fake façade of privacy. And worse, V felt bad about it for some reason. Neither of them were here on their own volition. Silverhand was dead, killed fifty years ago, soul pulled out of his body to waste an eternity in an endless incorporate cold. And V? V should have been just another body washed up in the see of mercenaries trying to make a name for themselves in a city that forgot them in a second. And maybe, just maybe, now it could be their chance to change something. If not in the world, then at least for the one of them that survived. V almost expected the construct to speak up at that thought, but Johnny stayed silent.

‘What did you eat when you were here?’, they tentatively asked, ready to regret the question immediately. ‘Thought I should shut up.’ ‘I have fifteen minutes until I have to meet up with the client. Either we talk or spend the time in silence.’ They lifted the bowl up and downed the water to get back to pick out the remnants of the noodles on the bottom. ‘The Pad Thai here is amazing. The way the shrimp taste you can almost forget they aren’t real.’ ‘Sounds good’, V mumbled, downing the rest of the soup and paying for their food.

‘I think I’ll try that next.’

[g0dspeeed]

Unconditional Positive Regard, 5

I’m thinking of not posting fic updates anymore on here, but I will be updating this Smasher/OC fic on ao3!

=========================================

Assessment

A faint whisper.

Soft.

Barely there.

The only noise in the Arasaka gym facility was its overhead air vent, but Adam felt absolutely annoyed by it all the same.

Silent and brooding, the mercenary stood in the middle of the gym mats with arms crossed and his red eyes staring heavily on the entrance. No doubt he was ready to lay into her, practically frothing for Lumen to feel how intensely pissed off he was at her lateness, at how she kept him waiting around like a fool.

Even before his days in the military, Adam was punctual. Or incredibly early. Had to be. As a hardened resident of NYC’s underworld, he could never predict what mob boss would lose his absolute shit over Adam’s ass being late, job fulfilled or not. Such a life seldom provided a second chance, and after watching many a comrade receive their due punishment for inconveniencing some trigger-hungry gang leader, Adam knew better than to press his luck. Though tucked back several decades into his past, the lessons learned in the streets of New York prepared him well in all their cruelty.

Other Arasaka staff wandered near the mats, completely oblivious to Adam until their eyes locked. Without a word, the staff members scurried out of sight.

A growl hummed past his lips. He checked the digital clock above the room for the sixth time in the last ten minutes. His jaw tightened.

Damn her.

Damn that fucking bitch and her bullshit contract.

Just as Adam was about to rip into her via holo, the rushed sounds of pattering feet echoed into the space. Lumen at last made her appearance, jogging through the entrance dressed in a grey tank top, black leggings, and tennis shoes. If anything, she looked prepared for Adam’s physical assessment.

Though her focus, Adam quickly observed, was clearly elsewhere.

As if not even noticing him, Lumen had tossed a small gym bag at the edge of the mats and quickly made work of her dark hair, her fingers running themselves frantically through its tangles in a vain effort to tie them back. Stray hairs stuck to the sticky sheen on her forehead as she struggled to compose herself.

Adam caught Lumen peeking over her shoulder near the entrance, gold eyes wide with anticipation.

Alit brilliant red, his own eyes shined as Adam conducted a quick scan of her vitals. Just as expected, the results read all racing pulse and rising body heat.

He frowned.

The woman was scared.

That force of rage soothed into a dull static. Still pissed? Absolutely, but his curiosity for her anxious state outweighed the anger, especially since the woman at this point seemed unable to experience anything resembling fear. She had stood brave in the face of his wrath before, multiple times even. Not budging, not wavering despite his powerful presence, despite the tight grip he had on her arm in the office.

If not terrified of him, Adam Smasher, what the hell could cause her to be so flustered?

Adam waited as she at last noticed him watching her, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“I’m late,” Lumen stated sheepishly. “I know that.”

Eyes narrowing, Adam didn’t grace her with a response.

A sigh.

“It won’t happen again,” she continued. “I promise.”

He wholly expected a flood of excuses, but Lumen offered not a single one. Instead, she casually approached him, giving one final look over her shoulder towards the opening of the gym.

“Expecting someone?” he questioned.

She turned away.

“Hm?”

At that, Adam snapped.

“You’re not a stupid bitch so stop fucking acting like one!”

Lumen flinched at the sudden harshness in his voice, at how he somehow managed to make himself larger as he loomed over her frozen form.

However, much to Adam’s annoyance, she then squared her shoulders. In a showing of grace, Lumen chose to maintain her ignorance.

“It’s nothing,” she quipped. “Let’s just get started, yeah?”

A tense pause filled the air while the pair refused to break eye contact with one another, too stubborn and too prideful to back down first.

Adam rolled his eyes. So be it. He didn’t really give a fuck anyway. Temper steaming, he conceded, allowing the moment to pass so they could finally start his assessment.

“Stretch,” he ordered. “Then I’ll give you some exercises-”

“What kind?”

“Physical ones,” he replied sharply. “Just do what I fucking tell you. You’ve already wasted enough of my time tonight.”

It was then did she truly regard him. Amusement soon touched her features as she scrutinized his attire. Gone was his large Arasaka jacket, replaced with a gray tank of his own that clung to his large frame. More of his implants could be seen under the bright lights of the gym, and without the jacket’s neck guard Lumen was able to appraise the thick, black cables that snaked down his neck and shoulders, as well as the sharp jawline from the implant on his chin. He still wore his black cargo pants and military-grade boots, but seeing more of his broad shoulders and some RealSkin was a nice change for the good doctor. In a strange way the look humanized him.

“Gawk at me all you want,” stated Adam. “But don’t start anything you can’t finish, sweetheart.”

Her lips twisted into a scowl, but Lumen began stretching as he had told her to. Adam felt pleased at her obedience, eyes lingering on her body as she bent over to tap the mats. Her toned physique curved deliciously at her hips, ass, and breasts, and he blatantly allowed himself an eye full.

Denial served him no good. Adam knew that he was physically attracted to the woman. Knew since they first met in the lobby, her beauty and confidence stalling him in his tracks. Always more drawn to the feminine figure, Lumen’s body lacked any qualities that suggested any weakness. Her legs were lined with muscle, arms, too, showing evidence of some athleticism.

How unfortunate that she was the client, he thought. Might’ve be fun to-

“You good?”

Gold eyes pierced him like knives as her hands gripped her shins.

Adam smirked. No guilt filled him. No shame forced his eyes to avert. Instead, he held her stare in a welcomed challenge.

“Never better,” he responded.

Lumen scoffed.

“To start,” continued Adam. “I need to know what implants you’re outfitted with.”

The annoyance on her face melted away into a blank stare.

“Just my eyes,” she answered. “Kiroshis-”

“I’m not stupid. No one has eyes like yours.”

That last comment spilled out of him before he could stop it. Another pause followed. Adam pushed through the awkwardness, ignoring her quirked brow.

“What other cyberware?”

Her shoulders rose.

“That’s it. I don’t have-”

“There’s no use lying to me-”

“I know. I’m telling the truth. I don’t have anything else.”

His teeth grit.

Of course.

Of course that’s all she had.

His latest security job is an organic meatbag with a savior complex, and his future career with one of the leading corporations in Night City is hinging on her survival.

Lumen frowned as if sensing his disapproval, but he asked nothing more. Instead, Adam led her to an indoor track in the facility and commanded she run a mile. The woman did as she was asked, again stirring a sense of pleasure in the mercenary as he openly lusted at her body while she bounded away.

Meatbag or not, Adam planned to push her. To break her in. To see what she looked like when she crumbled, when her body gave out. To see how she handled pain. Eyes lingered on her ass as she lapped him, his mind forcibly ignoring how his body twitched.

The evening drawled on in a slower pace than what Adam preferred. True, Lumen did all that he asked when it came to assessing her physical prowess. She ran, lifted, pushed, pulled, twisted, and carried whatever weight, time, or distance that Adam commanded. She scored high in each test, even as patches of sweat darkened her top. Her stats mildly impressed him though he would never admit that. It was a small relief that he wouldn’t have to drag her ass through the field as he might the lazy corpos from past security details, their bodies clammy and panting from mild exercise. Though her body was strong, her understanding about defense tactics was certainly not. That’s what made time drag on, the hours stretching with each new technique and modeling of skill. Each drill was met with more questions and coupled with Lumen’s furrowed brow as she tried to learn proper stance and follow-through. She stumbled. She forgot where her hands were supposed to rest. He had to repeat himself, sometimes three or four times until she got it right. To be fair, her opponent stood more than a foot taller than her, his body broad, heavy, and hard. The average citizen of Night City wouldn’t have the same build, but Adam saw value in testing her all the same. No complaints left Lumen, though as time pressed on, Adam could sense her fatigue.

If asked, he would ignore any implications that he enjoyed testing her. The woman was surprisingly open and attentive to his teachings, even when bested by the merc or met with criticism. Adam caught her off guard multiple times to challenge her reflexes, shoulder checking or roughly shoving her back onto the cushioned mats. Frustration was evident whenever she made a mistake, usually in the form of a sharp exhale or her teeth worrying her bottom lip, but Lumen did not allow any self-pity. Instead, she quickly rose from the mat to try again. Such persistence and the true power he felt behind every blocked blow loosened Adam up. Perhaps he lingered in his holds a little longer than necessary. Perhaps he savored how his body was pressed against hers, the heady scent of her perfume and sweat intoxicating him. Maybe he enjoyed her shit-eating grin whenever she felt that she bested him. Or when he let her land some hits just to see her golden eyes light up in pride. Or Adam gave a short ‘good’ whenever she seemed to master a concept, the closest thing to praise that he ever gave anyone.

Denial served him no good. But he would deny to anyone watching them spar that night that he permitted himself a smile.

For his own amusement, Adam dodged her attempt to strike him in the face, side stepping and immediately wrapping an arm around her waist. A shriek escaped Lumen as he lifted her from the floor with ease and tossed her a few yards away, her body landing hard on the mats and rolling before she settled with a groan.

“Again,” Adam repeated for likely the hundredth time.

When Lumen spoke, her face was still turned away, muffled and listless.

“Does this gym not have a closing time-”

“No.”

A heavy breath left her, her body deflating from exhaustion.

“We’ve been doing this for like, six hours, Adam. I think I’m done for the day.”

“You’ll be done when I say you’re done. Get up-”

“Nah.”

She heard his steps and could practically feel the challenge rolling off of him in waves.

“I know that your little assessment is over,” she chided with the same amount of liveliness. “Safe to say that you like tossing me around.”

A sneer spread across Adam’s lips.

“Maybe I do,” he agreed. “Or I just like the view of you on your back.”

A laugh. Weak, but genuine all the same.

“Preem. Glad to know I’m not losing my mind.”

Rolling over, Lumen dared to look into his red eyes. Never got old, the way her eyes shined. The directness set him back.

“Did I pass?” she asked. “Are you willing to babysit me now?”

“Willing? Never.”

Her eyes rolled.

“But do I pass?”

“It’ll take years before you’re passable, but for one day a week I guess it’ll do.”

Lumen chuckled as she pulled herself to her feet. Every muscle and joint ached at the effort, a silent scream retching from her body after all the work that he put her through. She knew that the intensity and duration was all unnecessary, but she chose to humor him all the same with how he conducted his assessment. Especially after catching how Adam watched her, glimmers of his suppressed amazement glowing each time Lumen completed an exercise well ahead of her expected time.

“Holy shit, it’s midnight,” she breathed.

Adam said not a word, choosing to watch her stretch and pack her things in silence. Lumen’s gray tank top was soaked all the way through, evidence of her labor practically dripping off her face. The woman was still standing after all the hell he pushed her through, even smiling to herself as she took off her tank and slipped on a windbreaker. Wasn’t shy, not one bit. His eyes drank her in, committing her curves to memory. Just below the band of her sports bra, Adam saw the beginning of a black tattoo.

“Are you above fraternizing?”

The words took a moment to register, his mind wondering more so about the hidden ink.

Lumen’s smile weakened, feeling the sting of rejection in his lack of response.

“Hey,” she tried again in a new, soft voice. The change snapped Adam back into focus, suspicion filling him immediately.

“I’m sorry about how I treated you back at my office,” continued the woman. “That last time, you know, with my client?”

Her tongue wet her lips.

“She’s just a child,” continued Lumen. “And, well, I guess tantrums match the level of body modifications? I don’t know. Anyway, it wasn’t right that I took out my frustration on you. You just tried to help, and I’m sorry that I was…”

And just like that, her warm smile and how deeply she looked into his eyes captivated him. He froze at her authenticity, at how brazen she was with her vulnerable emotions. A whim that Adam seldom allowed himself to have, lest it maintain a sense of control.

“I was a bitch,” she concluded. “And I’m sorry.”

Adam wasn’t quite sure what to do next. No one had really apologized to him before, not out of anything other than pure fear anyway, and he was so taken aback by the genuine sincerity of it all that he found himself staring off towards the far side of the gym to avoid the intimacy of her gaze.

“I don’t give a shit,” he stated coolly. “You’re just part of the agreement with Arasaka, a means to an end unfortunately. Even if you were being a total cunt.”

Hoping that she would do something predictable like maybe argue or insult him, Adam dared his eyes to venture back to the woman. Lumen appeared not to take offense at his latest label. She laughed heartily.

“I guess I was being a cunt,” she mused. “That’s fair.”

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Lumen approached the door. She gave a small wave from over her shoulder. Adam was left speechless.

Before leaving the building himself, the merc took an elevator to one of the other lower floors. Too preoccupied by what occurred that evening, he nearly forgot to retrieve a finishing touch from the Weapons Department. He didn’t typically find much use for this particular item, the other contracts either not important enough or Adam not giving a shit either way, but in this case he thought it wise to play it safer rather than risk any unnecessary setbacks to his missions with Lumen. The check-out process was easy enough, especially with his level of clearance. Item in hand, Adam was lost in thought as he travelled down to the parking garage of Arasaka headquarters. The woman had asked him about fraternization.

Why?

To what end?

Did she expect him to want to have a drink with her? Dinner?

As if they were friendly?

As if he was interested in learning anything about her that didn’t have to do with their contract?

Enigmatic. That would be a great word to describe Lumen or at least one that satisfied Adam in that moment. Each time they met she surprised him. Each time she challenged his assumptions about how she’d respond, react, treat him, even in the face of an insult or threat. What bothered Adam more was how unbothered he was becoming to her defiance. He allowed her to roll her eyes, to argue, to bait him, to tease. Not once had he laid a hand on her with intent to harm. Unlike her colleague, Lumen walked away from their conversations unscathed, or more honestly, he felt the need to walk away from her due to how off kilter she made Adam feel with that smile and gentle touches of the hand. He shivered at the memory of her warmth, at how deeply she looked into his eyes with her palm pressed to his cheek. Couldn’t recall the last time someone held him like that, even if she was only doing it to distract him from his rage.

A scoff.

That’s the only reason she did such an intimate thing. To survive. To fend off her imminent demise at his hand. She must recognize how tentative her role is, that the moment Arasaka deemed their contact over all reserve and patience went out the window. That must be why he staved his anger, why he showed her such undeserved mercy even though she was such a festering pain in his ass.

And yet.

Preem. That’s what she had said with that classic smile. That’s what she said at their shared acknowledgment of his attraction to her.

Preem.

Almost flirtatious.

The elevator doors opened and let in the cool air of the parking garage. It smelled of oil and exhaust, coupled with the strong urban smells of the city street. Something about a city at night stirred within Adam a sense of belonging. Of home. Maybe it was the kind of people who roamed freely at night, who clubbed, drank, and drugged themselves to excess in primal escapism. The kind who found comfort in the shadows as he did, who took refuge in the lapse in reality that Night City’s underbelly provided.

He breathed it in to feel the taste on his tongue, already debating on how to spend one of his rare, free nights off.

Just as Adam was about to leave the garage, a far-off figure captured his attention.

She stood in heavy contemplation by the opening of the garage, her attention completely void of Adam’s presence. That plump bottom lip of hers were tugged in her teeth with her fingers also pinching the skin as she thought on, clearly weighing upon an important decision.

Adam frowned at seeing Lumen still lingering around the corporate building. Their time had concluded half an hour ago, yet there she was. Stance rigid, Adam took note in how uncomfortable she appeared, recalling how strangely she had entered the gym earlier in the night. He scanned her, not surprised to see her heart rate was elevated and breathing slightly labored.

Fear.

Textbook fear, but why?

Following her stare, Adam quickly understood.

Down the street stood a small group of young men. They stood huddled amongst each other near the hood of some beat up car, their scrappy clothes alit by streetlight. They smoked and talked to one another in hushed voices, but even in their best efforts to appear nonchalant, Adam was aware at how each one would periodically stare in Lumen’s direction. Eyes hooded and with a hint of a smile, one man even nodded towards her. Lumen flinched.

No one was aware of Adam. No one knew he lingered in the shadows, how he was privy to all who were involved. How he had access to their bounties and criminal charges in seconds, how his temper blistered at seeing the nature of their offenses.

With a heavy hand, Adam reached out from the darkness and placed his palm on the base of her neck. Lumen jumped instantly, a scream catching in her throat.

“Do you know them?”

His voice was stern, though unreadable. Beneath his touch, he could feel her body relaxing, at how calm she became at hearing his voice.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she muttered. “Why the fuck would you do that-”

“Do you know those men?”

She swallowed.

“No.”

Adam stepped out from beneath the shadows of the parking garage, his grip still on the back of Lumen’s neck.

When he spoke again, his voice was louder and held a sort of lethality in its tone.

“Go home,” he commanded.

Before she could respond, his other hand left his side to reveal the item he took from the Weapons Department. She frowned in confusion as he held up a large white ring, the device clearly some form of modification. Without asking, Adam moved the device over her head and hung it around her neck.

“What is this?” asked Lumen.

“A Halo.”

Adam’s red eyes glowed an amber color, the device then chiming to life. Lumen felt a dull vibration coming from the ring as it activated and synced with the mercenary, her anxiety bubbling even more. It shined a bright white, the color illuminating her face in a faint glow. Adam gave her neck a squeeze.

“What, what does it do?” she asked him.

“Stops anyone from hacking in, even if its just your optics and processor. Tells me where you are at all times and any irregularities in your vitals. Also has a panic feature. Not that you’ll need it.”

That last part was said while Adam gave his coldest stare to the men on the opposite end of the street. He knew they could hear him, knew they recognized who he was, his name falling off their lips the moment he revealed himself. Adam reveled in how quickly they avoided his gaze, at how fast they scrambled.

Turning back to Lumen, he caught her letting out a sigh of relief.

“Go home,” he commanded again. “Turn this off when you get there.”

She nodded slowly.

Adam’s eyes lingered on her face a moment longer, taking in the redness of her cheeks and how quickly her pulse raced, his thumb feeling its drumming beneath his touch.

He let her go and turned down the sidewalk, not bothering to look at her again.

Just as Adam thought that he finally had the final word, a faint ‘thank you’ was whispered from behind.

[imanativeofswlondondahling]

Becoming A Stark? (16)- Peter Parker x Stark! femReader

Word Count: 1828

Warnings: Swearing, that should be all I’m pretty sure

Author’s Note: Something has been up with my taglist but I think I fixed it, so make sure you’ve caught up on the past chapters before this. Also if you want to be added to future tags, let me know! 

Chapter One || Previous Chapter || Master List 

You saw it trending on Twitter the next morning. Delmar’s had caught fire when someone robbed a bank across the street the night before. Apparently Mr. Delmar and Murph were ok, thanks to our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. But Delmar’s destroyed? This was basically the end of your existence until it was fixed. “My. Life. Is. Over.” You dramatically say before laying your head to rest on the table next to the stack of pancakes Pepper had placed on the table.

“Ok, Tony Jr., why is your life over?” Tony hears Pepper tease you as he comes down the stairs.

“Delmar’s was destroyed.”

“You’re giving her syrup and no green juice? This has to be fixed.” Tony says, ignoring the statement that came out of your mouth.

“I stand corrected, now my life is now over.” You don’t really mind the green juice all that much, but on a day like today you don’t have time for celery, apple and kale juice when the best sandwich shop in Queens is gone. “Dad, you have to fix it. This is an Iron Man level problem.”

Those words make Tony pause and look at his teenage daughter. You’ve never said anything is an Iron Man level problem before. “What am I missing here?” Tony glances at Pepper.

“Her favorite sandwich shop was destroyed last night.”

“My life is over until it’s fixed.”

“That sounds more like a Tony Stark could fix it problem than an Iron Man problem.”

“Well Iron Man could talk to Spider-Man and see why he couldn’t stop the bad guys from exploding it? Like what does Spider-Man have against Delmar’s?” Your hands throw dramatically outward as if they don’t understand why someone who is supposed to save the neighborhood would destroy a local legend.

“I don’t think Spider-Man hates Delmar’s. It was probably an accident.” He watches as you pull out your phone and snapchat one of the most dejected faces he’s ever seen you make. “Who are you messaging?” He can’t help but ask.

“Peter. He’s probably just as upset as I am. He loves that place.”

“Oh you have no idea kiddo.”

“Oh one more thing. Can I stay home from school?” You look up at your dad, pulling what you hope looks like puppy dog eyes.

“You don’t seem that upset, but let me hear your best reasons why you should be allowed to stay home.”

“Because I’m facing personal trauma?” You suggest and Tony stares at you for a moment before you admit, “Ok so it’s the Captain America Fitness Challenge in gym today and I reallllllllllllllly don’t want to do it.”

“I’m sorry, the what now?”

“The Captain America Fitness Challenge. It’s required by the state, but they named it before the Accords happened.” You still don’t fully know what happened, but you haven’t seen Steve since Germany so it can’t have been good. 

“No child of mine is participating-”

“You’re going to school. It’s just a fitness test.” Pepper cuts in. “If however your blood sugar isn’t in range during gym then go to the nurse. But do not do stuff to force it to fall.” She raises an eyebrow at you, knowing that being a child of Tony’s there was a chance you would do whatever it took to get out of it.

“And I’ll see you the day after tomorrow when I get back from India ok kiddo?”

“Why India?”

“People to see, things to do.” Your dad says as he kisses your head. “If it were up to me, there would be no Captain America anything.” He whispers to you and you smile. “Now eat your breakfast while I get you the healthier part of your breakfast.”

“Dad, I don’t have to have a green juice every morning.”

“The green juice is mandatory. The pancakes are optional.” You roll your eyes at your dad. 

“You guys are all invited tonight. My parents are going to be gone, but said we can have some fun. Plus Ned told us during gym that Peter knows Spider-Man from the Stark Internship, so Spider-Man might show up.” You almost choke on the sunbutter and jelly sandwich Pepper made you. 

“I’m sorry, you know Spider-Man from your internship with my dad?” Your eyes fall on Peter.

“Your dad told me not to mention it.”

“So you brought it up during gym class?” 

“Technically Ned did.” Peter says. Looking at your face he sees hints of betrayal and hurt etching your features. But the biggest image is the image of Tony in your features. Tony made him promise not to connect you and Spider-Man. “Y/N-”

“Have fun at the party with Spider-Man.” You throw your food back in your lunch box. “I forgot I need to take care of something.” You push away from the lunch table. So many thoughts are running through your mind. Why would your dad introduce Peter to Spider-Man and not you? He had introduced you to so many of the Avengers before everything went to shit. So why was Spider-Man any different? And now Peter and Spider-Man were good enough friends that he was willing to come to a high school party? You turn the corner to go to the library. You could at least hide there until the end of the lunch period. Now you have to deal with the stupid Captain America Fitness Challenge and this stupid Spider-Man bullshit.

Y: so you introduced peter to spider-man? 

T: Who’s saying I did?

Y: clearly peter. told a whole group of people that his friend spider-man, that he met through his internship with you, would come to a party tonight

Tony runs a hand through his hair. What is Peter doing? The whole point of having a secret identity is not to be telling kids you were going to be showing up at a party. Does he think he’s a show pony now? Because that is the last thing that the Avengers are.

T: So SM is a party trick now?

PP: y/n texted you

T: she seems to be pretty upset that I introduced you to SM before my own kid

PP: i can’t explain everything to her, so it was the easiest explanation.

Your dad clearly isn’t going to respond, so instead you reach out to a number that hasn’t contacted you in nearly two months. But hopefully, she doesn’t let you down.

Y: sos-are you in the city by chance? 

N: You’re not trying to turn me in are you?

Y: i need someone to come rescue me from a really shit day at school.

N: I can be there in 30.

“So you wanna tell me why I’m kidnapping you?” Natasha asks as she walks you out of school after signing you out for the day.

“You’re on my list of people allowed to pick me up from school. So it’s not kidnapping. It’s a recovery mission.” You quote her words from your first few days living with your father. 

“I see I taught you well.” Natasha smiles as you get into the black four door with her. “Where to?”

“Anywhere but here.” You answer honestly. “Where have you been?”

“Here and there. Been hiding for the most part.”

“Hiding from what?”

“People that don’t want me to be running around.”

“Is that why you’re blonde now?”

“One of the reasons. Do you not like it?”

“I like the red better.” You look out the window as she drives towards Manhattan. “Are you with Steve?”

“It’s probably better if I don’t say. Your dad and Steve aren’t on the best feet right now.”

“I could give a rat’s ass about what Daddy Dearest thinks.”

“I thought you and your dad were getting along. Literally all the conversations I had with him before I split off, he couldn’t stop mentioning you.”

“He’s part of the reason I left school today. That and the Captain America Fitness Challenge.”

“You didn’t want to take the Fitness Test?”

“Some of us are just normal humans, remember?”

“So am I.” Natasha turns onto a side street. 

“Yeah, but you’re a trained assassin. You could take and pass the fitness test with ease.”

“What happened with your dad?” Natasha changes the subject without acknowledging what you said about the fitness test.

“It’s stupid.” You cross your arms.

“Not stupid if it upset you.”

“You know the Spider-Man that’s been running around Queens?”

“Yeah.”

“My dad introduced him to his intern but won’t introduce him to me. Apparently his intern has met him enough times that Spider-Man is willing to stop by a party that one of our friends is throwing. And when I tried to talk to my dad about it, he just stopped responding like that would make it better.”

“Did you think that maybe your dad had reasons other than being mean or something like that for why he wouldn’t want you near another superhero?”

“Like what?”

“He feels like he puts you in danger all the time. Another superhero, more danger. That was the whole point of the Accords was keeping us in check. Keeping the normal,” She motions towards you, “people safe. So maybe he was hesitant to bring yet another superhero into your life, especially after a huge group of us superheroes went rogue on him. He loves you. He would literally do anything for you.”

“He wouldn’t let me skip the fitness challenge this morning.”

“He wasn’t going to let you skip school. To be honest maybe I shouldn’t have let you either, but I miss you.” 

“I miss you too Aunt Nat.” The words slip from your mouth before you can stop them. “You should come home.”

“I can’t until the Accords get sorted out. I’m considered a criminal right now.”

“Can we go to the compound? Just hang out there.”

“Your father will have a heart attack if you’re not home in two hours which is how long it will take to drive there.”

“I think he’s supposed to be leaving for an event out of town. A wedding or some other event out of the country. I just have to text Happy that I don’t need a ride.”

“Get the approval that I don’t have to take you home in the next couple hours and we can go hang out at the compound.” You can’t help but smile as you text Happy, saying that you are going to Betty’s house after school and a party at Liz’s that night so you won’t be home until the next day. He offers to pick you up, but you say you’ll be fine getting a ride home. “We’re all good.”

“And Tony won’t be at the compound right?”

“He’s heading to India for a wedding or a corporate event of some kind.”

“Then it looks like a girls night at the compound is what we’re going to do.” Natasha turns to leave the city and you feel your heart getting a little lighter.

Becoming A Stark Tag list: @persephonehemingway​   @iamaunicorn4704​   @furiouspockettoad​  @daughter-of-stark​  @eternalharry​  @huntective-kyeo​ @riiis-stuff​ @sunnyoongles @cosmicqueenieb​ @sovereignparker​ @bbarnestan​@teenwishes08 @iamthescarlettwitch​ @skyfallstilinski @cutie1365​

Permanent tag list: @wormonastringonastick​

wont let me tag

[into-the-afterlife]

I’m Almost Me Again

Three scenes from V's life, as she learns to work with Johnny Silverhand, figures out what he means to her, and bangs out her feelings for him.

(That last bit wasn't part of the plan.)

‘They’re for my health,’ says V.

Johnny Silverhand holds the pills above her head, dangling them, then snatching them away just as she reaches for them. ‘They make me disappear. Not happening.’

‘You’ll come back,’ V reminds him. ‘I’m not gonna, eventually, but you always will.’

‘That’s defeatist talk,’ Johnny says. ‘That’s corpo talk. Didn’t think you were some bootlicking corpo-slut.’

‘’S the truth.’

Johnny throws the pill bottle from hand to hand. ‘If you really think that’s the truth, why are you fighting me so much for these?’

V’s hands curl into fists, her heart hammering. ‘Listen. I’ll take my evening dose, and you’ll disappear while I sleep, but I’ll skip my morning dose so you can come out during the day. Deal?’

Johnny pauses, then tosses them over. ‘Deal. Fuck, if they told me my forever was gonna be spent with a stick up my ass, I’d have begged them to delete me then and there.’

V flips him the bird as she swallows her pill.

***

‘Order the tequila.’

‘Nah.’ V nods her thanks at the bartender as she picks up her bottle of beer. ‘Need to be sharp tonight, don’t wanna go on the hard stuff.’

‘Always played my best tunes after the real liquor,’ Johnny says.

V takes a gulp of beer. ‘Always played your best tunes according to you. You were so sloshed in the memories I saw that you wouldn’t have been able to tell a C sharp from a D flat.’

‘Since when do you know the difference between a C sharp and a D flat?’

‘Since you camped out in my head,’ V says. ‘Having your memories means having all your music stuff too.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Johnny folds his arms, leaning against the wall. ‘Prove it. Play one of my songs on that guitar, right now.’

V’s eyes settle on the electric guitar he’s pointing out. It’s not one of his antique models, meaning it’ll take its power from her implants; she won’t need to plug it in. The drumbeat of a challenge settles in her stomach, like the moment in a gig just before she starts shooting. She sets down her beer, strides towards it and picks it up.

‘What song?’ she says, flashing a fuck-you grin.

Johnny looks over his sunglasses. ‘Arasaka’s an Ass.’

‘Always were one for the subtle touch.’ She picks it up and holds it the way she’s seen other guitarists – at least, the way she thinks she’s seen them hold it. Which hand goes on the neck? Which strums the strings? Which strings do you strum? She runs her fingers experimentally across the strings, and jumps as the amps let out an unholy screech. The day that’ll be classed as music, the Afterlife will run out of customers.

Across the room, Johnny’s laughing his ass off so hard he’s crying. And V’s laughing too, and nobody else in the bar can see or understand why.

***

V looks out at Night City from her apartment window. From this high up, the place looks almost beautiful; an ever-changing stream of colours and lights, like a BD made for kids.

Johnny materialises and stands beside her. ‘Whatcha thinking?’

‘Why ask when you always know?’

‘I like seeing you squirm when you say it.’

‘Fuck you,’ she says, but there’s no real venom behind it, and the conversation lapses into silence.

‘Fine,’ she says eventually. ‘I’m horny. I’m horny and I don’t wanna die without coming, hard, at least one more time.’

‘So go see a joytoy.’

‘Not gonna cheat on Judy.’

‘Go see Judy, then.’

‘Can’t.’ V pauses. ‘Judy’s too...good. Too pure.’

‘She didn’t seem that pure when she was rubbing her spicy Latina ass all over you.’ Johnny grins like a wolf. ‘Gotta say, I always liked women blonde and brainless, but that feistiness has got something going for it.’

‘Leave that shit in 2020,’ V says, this time with vehemence. ‘Judy doesn’t deserve your racist crap, and from what I’ve seen, Alt was a long way from brainless. Just ’cause you think the world revolves around you and your dick - ’

‘Okay, okay.’ Johnny holds up his hands, mock-backing away from V. ‘Your body, your rules. So what’s the problem with Judy?’

V blows out a breath, but doesn’t push it further. ‘I love her, but...I know I’m gonna die. It’s been this long and I still haven’t found a cure. How much of a chance have I got, really? And the more time I spend with her - ’

‘The more she gets attached?’

‘Yeah.’ V drums her fingernails against the windowsill. ‘That, and...I feel different from her, now. Different from everyone, ever since you showed up. I’ve died and I’ve come back to life, and I’ve found out stuff nobody in Night City is supposed to know – and I’m a merc, you know? I’m a merc, and she’s an artist, and a do-gooder, and an idealist fighting for what’s right, and that’s really fucking hot, but it also makes her...better than me.’

(V doesn’t look Johnny in the eye, for that last part.)

She’s expecting Johnny to laugh, or to confirm her insecurities, but instead there’s a thoughtful pause before he speaks. First time for everything. ‘And you don’t want to make love to someone you love. You want to fuck.’

‘...Yeah.’

Johnny moves closer, leaning right beside her on the windowsill. ‘I could help.’

‘Wait, what?’

‘You heard me.’ He’s neither mocking nor fierce, just looking directly at her. ‘You’re not the only one with an itch that needs scratching, you know.’

‘Whoa, okay, I have seen way too much of you and your itch that needs scratching, so - ’

‘I’m serious.’

V blinks. ‘Is that even possible?’

‘’Course it is. Arasaka knows their market. For every corpo-drone who just wants to bring back grandma, there’ll be five more who want their favourite joytoy within reach twenty-four hours a fucking day.’

‘This has to be the weirdest conversation this city has ever seen.’

‘V, this is Night City,’ Johnny says. ‘There’ll always be weirder.’

At that, V breaks into hysterical, shaky laughter, that to her shock turns into hitching sobs.

‘Hey. Hey. Come here.’ And Johnny’s arms are around her, just like that. The line of his muscles make her think of being trapped, fighting off three Maelstrom goons while three more sneak up behind her, but they’re firm without squeezing her.

She looks up at him, hating that it’s up she has to look, and remembers, despite all her recent sexual encounters being women, how fucking much she likes men. ‘This isn’t some way to flatline me, is it?’

‘I’ve had easier ways to do that, haven’t I?’

Slowly, her hands find his shoulders. ‘No feelings?’

He smiles. ‘Absolutely none.’

V kisses him first. And she hates herself for it, but God, now she can see why Johnny Silverhand had so many groupies. Stubble rasps against her mouth, and he tastes like nicotine and the staleness of a night out come morning. She presses her lips against his, giving as good as she gets, and satisfaction ripples through her when his hips start bucking against hers.

She breaks away, panting. ‘Give it to me.’

Johnny grins oh so slowly. ‘Give you what, exactly?’

‘Your cigarettes,’ V says, deadpan, and is rewarded with his laughter. She reaches for his zipper, but is stopped by his hand encircling her wrist.

‘I’m not gonna be the only one stripping down.’ Johnny’s hair is messed up from her hand roving through it, and his cheeks are slightly flushed. ‘You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.’

‘You’re in my body,’ says V. ‘You already know what I look like.’

‘I don’t, actually,’ Johnny says. ‘Every time you’re in the shower or getting into your bullet vest, I close my eyes.’

‘Huh.’ V’s taken aback. ‘What happened to all the womanising?’

‘I died,’ says Johnny, simply. ‘I died, and I lost Alt, and then I started sharing a body with a woman. Makes you think.’

V lets out a long breath, and lifts her tank top over her head. ‘Well then. Time to make sure you don’t have any more regrets, huh?’

‘Could say the same to you.’

She makes direct eye contact with him as she unhooks her bra. ‘Get in my body some more, then.’

***

‘So is it silver too?’

‘Ha, ha.’

They’re on the couch, their hands burrowing up and down each other’s bodies and clothes, but neither of them are all the way naked yet. V pulls the zip of Johnny’s fly down, enjoying the twitching bulge cupped in her hand and the way Johnny tips his head back as she rubs it.

Then she looks down. ‘Whoa. You were...really not exaggerating, huh?’

He shoots her a self-contented look. ‘Johnny Silverhand always delivers what he promises.’

V reaches for her panties, itching to get them off, but Johnny’s large hands are there before hers. He eases them down, fingers stroking across her thighs, and V moans. Even though he’s been in her body this long, she’s never felt quite so exposed as she does now, with his dark eyes roving across her.

She swings a leg over him, bracing one hand against his muscled chest while the other guides his cock. ‘C’mere.’

As she sinks down on him, they groan together, and V can’t stop herself from thrusting, and she’s blissfully, electrically alive.

***

Johnny reclines on the couch, nude and smoking yet another cigarette. The smoke curls lazily upward. V opens a bottle of water, tipping it back and relishing the cold freshness.

She wipes the droplets from her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘This make me a robot-fucker?’

‘Don’t think it counts if I’m just a construct.’

‘You’re not just a construct,’ she says, too quickly. ‘You’re not just. I – I mean - ’

‘Aw, V, I’m flattered. You bounced on my cock one time and now you’ve got feelings for me?’

‘Fuck you!’ V throws the empty water bottle at him, but of course, it goes right through him.

Johnny takes a last drag of the cigarette and stubs it out on the couch. ‘For the record, you make quite the host.’

‘Glad to hear you’re enjoying eating my brain and taking over my body.’ V meant it to come out light, but there’s a bitter edge to it that she can’t quite erase.

He gets up and crosses over to her. ‘Hey. V. We’ll find a way out of this mess.’

‘And if we don’t?’

‘Then,’ he says, ‘I die for the second time over with better memories than the first. Or I stay right beside you, till the very end.’

[thehandsomeasshole]

@starttheanarchy from X

She kept silent as he talked, rambling about some rather interesting work that was being handed to a CEO. Wouldn't that kind of issues fall into a mixture of legal and HR? Ah poor is the chain of command. Well Gaige held her tongue on those thoughts, leaving the man to his legal headaches. Though at the mention of a wife, her eyes cut to the sky, right to the giant H that loomed overhead no mater where she was. And she felt a small bit of pain for the older man, not having a chance to mourn or process. Just work as usual. And she could tell that this was something she at the very least wasn't suppose to know with how he cut himself off. A small light humm came from her throat, a form of acknowledgment that she was listening and that this was marked down in her memory.

The topic swap back into technology got her moving again, nearing the garage that Ellie owned. Said woman was in front of the compactor doing what she seemed to love best, and Gaige just sent her a wave before ducking into the building.

"Yes, but is it not a sign of good quality when even the parts of your work can be used beyond others?" Gaige was going to be nice this once and allow the conversation to flow away from his past. "No, I can say with absolute certainty I would never take any shortcuts with DT. Or own a company, why would I want to be a sell out like that?" And that is where the anarchist started to come out. Ah the amount of times in class she debated the ethics and morals of the different corporations of the universe.

"Well then it is poor design then to have all the sensors in one place, and you can't say that you don't with how fast they are rendered useless once shot in the blatantly obvious eye." Stairs were taken two at a time as she head over to the workbench beside the vending machines. "I could care less about the funky stuff, would probably be a downgrade more then anything else to my work of art.” The tool case dropped onto the workbench, and a loud snort at the agree to disagreement. Eyes roll at the claim of superiority.

Gaige stills at the mention of what happened at the science fair. Eyes narrow as she was trying to figure out if he was trying to insinuate if the accident was not actually one. Fingers grip the workbench, dents forming under her robotic ones. It had been a moment since she had even had a single thought of that day, one of her worst days even compared to what Pandora had thrown at her so far. And something to think about when there was far less on her plate, one more issues shelved for the eventual emotional and mental break down.

"Actually, DT is programed to react to hostility. Meaning they will only take action after aggression has happened. Reactive rather then active, always has been like that." Sure it was a stupid idea to keep one of her main ways of defending herself on a more passive setting, but Gaige refused to to cause harm first.

"Yes I will admit, there is a fair amount of blood on my hands. But when did I ever claim to be the good guy? You have always been the one to bring it up, usually to either defend your actions or yourself. Since when have heroes ever claimed to be one? When have they allowed cruelty into their actions? To break apart families?"

Jack leaned away from the echo, burying his face into his sweater sleeve and he groaned loudly.

Well, that was definitely going to come back and bite him in the ass.

"Uh… No." Jack raised his head and turned back towards the echo, "No, it is not. You see, I don't exactly design my bots to help you jerks. I design 'em for maximum efficiency in production and combat. Got that? Good."

"Ooh, ouch! Look at you go, insulting me left and right. Good for you." He snorted, shaking his head, "Listen, kid, you can shit on the corpos all you'd like–trust me, I did my fair share of it when I was younger–but it's not as bad as it looks from the outside. And, hey! At least we don't have slaves like- Oh, actually, I think that's confidential… But, my workers get honest pay for, mostly, honest work. If they don't work hard enough, then, yeah. They get the crap beaten outta them or, if they're real lucky, they get airlocked. Much quicker. And funnier, actually. Their little eyes popping out of their heads and they just burst."

For a moment, Jack considered disagreeing. Telling her that the sensors were all strategically placed for maximum energy efficiency. While it was partially true, it wasn't entirely for that reason.

"Nah, I know," Jack laughed slightly, "you're right. It's mostly for the aesthetic, everything just slots together so nicely that way. Looks all sleek and tidy, y'know? You know."

Jack had taken the silence as confirmation he'd made her uncomfortable, talking about her killing her classmate, though it hadn't felt as good as he'd hoped.

She's probably around Angel's age, you asshole, he thought to himself, even more displeased now he'd made himself uncomfortable, too. 

"I did the same thing with the loaders. Can't have them mowing down all my workers, can I? No matter how funny it would be." Jack hummed slightly, picking his pen up off the desk and beginning to rapidly click it, "That did happen once, though. Rouge claptrap unit, got it's gross little hands onto an assault rifle after it found out it was gonna get shot down onto Pandora cause it was useless."

He shook his head, shuddering, "Something you'd never want to see, an ugly little trashcan of a robot coming at you sixty miles an hour and screaming 'you'll never take me alive!' at the top of it's voice module." A small laugh slipped past Jack's lips, "We didn't, the turrets finally kicked in and slaughtered the bastard."

"You're-..." Jack paused, the expression of frustration slowly melting off his face and he leaned back into his seat, "Actually kinda right. I always forget it's not you I hate. Well, I don't like you by any means but… Heh, guess I'm just amazed you'd work for the Crimson Raiders with their track record for screwing everyone over."

He shrugged, satisfied with planting the little seed of doubt in her mind, "I mean, whatever. No hair off my head if they try to kill you, right? Just less effort on my part."

"But, to answer your question…" he leaned forward again, letting out a quiet chuckle, "When they think it's the right thing to do. Y'know, human flaws and all that. The whole trolley problem thing or whatever. Would you rather kill one person you hold dear, or ten you don't? That kinda bullshit."

In all truth, he couldn't remember what they were talking about.

"Next time you wander into a bandit camp, stop and ask yourself: am I doing what I need to? Or am I just doing what I'm told? Always thought it was kinda funny how y'all just run around like headless chickens doing whatever your 'leaders' told you to, bet you don't even question it, do you? They say kill, and you just ask how much you're gonna get paid or if you'll get a shiny, new gun outta it."

"So, how am I doing so far? Pissing you off enough to keep you interested?"