#and vik then has to be like hey old man you can let go of my sister now please let go of shilva im not sure i like this | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

heartofsnark · 3 years ago

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Can You Feel The Sun? (Chapter Four): Leave My Head Among The Stars

Notes: Okayyyyyy, so here’s the thing, I started to write this chapter and what I planned to have in it and then I suddenly had 66 pages of content. So, I had to split it up. So I have three chapters, including this one, written up. So, these next couple updates for this will be fairly quick. I’m trying to get to johnny quick, but act 1 is a doozy, I hope you’re still enjoying the content though.

Word Count: 9268

Chapter Warnings: Mild violence, weird sexual tension,

If you haven’t yet, you can read the previous chapter here!~

Fingernails scratch at V’s back, the merc whining as she’s gently stirred awake. Her eyes are still blurry with sleep and the sun is just beginning to filters in through her window when she looks up at the older woman. Sunlight illuminates Cecelia, makes her freckles stand out on her tanned skin and turns her eyes molten gold. Her lips move and V has to refocus, not just stare at the far too out of her league woman, and focus on reading her lips.

“….work….”

That’s all she can read across Cecelia’s lips and she grumbles, rolling off of the older woman. V wraps her blankets tightly around herself, forming a cocoon as her fuckbuddy leaves the bed. She watches for a minute, before it hits her; she makes a vague disgruntled noises as she grabs the hem of Cecelia’s shirt, stopping her from leaving. The older woman looks at her for a moment, like a deer caught in headlights as she looks at the sleepy curled up merc tugging at her clothes.

“Pancakes…” Is all V says, assuming her voice sounds as heavy with sleep as it feels, she grabs some eurodollars off her bedside table. The merc pushes the money into Cecelia’s hands, paying her for the food she brought in last night. Cecelia’s face drops, though V’s sleep laden brain can’t begin to understand why.

“Well...kinda...feel...prostitute,” V’s unfocused eyes struggles to read Cecelia’s lips, but she can fill in the blanks. That this exchange of money, even if meant for pancakes, has made Cecelia feel like a prostitute.

“Don’t worry,” V yawns, signing a little sloppy from exhaustion, “I don’t pay for sex, so you’re fine.”

Then V’s passed back out against her pillow.

V wakes up, an hour or so later, rolling out of her sheets, Cecelia already long gone. She rubs at her sleep laden eyes and shoots a quick text to Jackie, letting him know she’s ready to meet up whenever he is, so she can see his big news. He texts back almost immediately, proclaiming he’s on his way. V decides to use her time to quickly clean up the mess of last night; cleaning her toy and changing out her sheets. She’ll have to do laundry soon, but that’s an issue for later tonight… or later this week...or month. V will figure it out, at some point. She grabs a quick shower and changes her clothes.

Despite the heat, she opts for a cropped hoodie, jeans, and her old slightly ratty backpack. Her mask, air hypos, max docs, bounce backs and extra weapons packed inside along with ammo. Night City necessities. It may seem like a bit much but, her mask can’t fit in her pocket and Jackie likes to spring gigs on her. She slides her optic contact case in her pocket, alongside her phone, turns on her translator choker, then puts in her hearing aids. Her ears twinge, still a little raw, she was more focused on sleeping than doctoring them last night.

She tucks her favorite knife into a thigh holster and her preferred gun in a hidden holster in her waistband. Armed to the teeth, V ties her boots and heads out the door, letting it lock behind her, nose twinging again at the smell as soon as steps out. V starts out through the big walkway that goes into balconied steps, though the view is just more apartments, the elevator that leads to the front is a floor down across from one of the clusters of shops that sit on that floor. Every couple of floors there's a services level. In this one megabuilding alone there are probably twenty restaurants and forty gun shops. Hell, her vending machine in her apartment has the option to order a joytoy or sex droid from the brothel eight floors up.

Her holophone buzzes, bleeps, and lights up inside of her pocket as she walks past the cluster of vending machines. She checks, expecting a text from Jackie, that he’s already waiting on her. And instead groans.

REMINDER, TAKE YOUR MEDICATION!!!!!!! :3

Her phone notification screams at her and she groans under her breath. She stomps back up the stairs and back into her apartment, grabbing a flat Nicola Sakura and using it to swallow down her immunosuppressants, then she leaves her apartment, again. V’s mentally cursing her own forgetfulness, she can remember to keep twenty different weapons on her, but her medication manages to slip her mind routinely.

The chatter of strangers fills the services floor as she walks through, past the initial pocket of vending machines, then restaurant stands, and then as if to mock her when she eats that garbage; a gym section of the floor. All of which is followed by a gun shop. It's all a weird medley of sounds and smells that her sensitive self struggles with.

Theres the clinging of sodas from the vending machines, the searing sound of cooking dishes, the talk of strangers, the grunts of people working out, the thwacking of people hitting punching bags, the clanging of weights, advertisements screaming at her to buy something, the muffled sound of gunfire from the Second Amendement’s shooting range, and robotic whirrs of Coach Fred’s punching bag robot.

And the smells, dear lord the smells. Gunpowder, sweat, and cooking food; all mingled with people’s own body odor or perfumes with just a sprinkle of hot trash.

She considers turning her hearing aids off and grabbing her chapstick, as she passes by Coach Fred’s section of the floor where he offers boxing training, a raised platform to box on. He punches and trains against his training droid.

“Hey, V!” The older man calls out, before she can mute the world, padded robot stopping next to him, “How you like my new Punchin' Bag? Just gave me a nextgen ass-whoopin', he did. Be curious to see how he handles the likes of V... Heh. So how 'bout it?”

“Pff,” V can’t help but scoff just a little, Coach Fred is easy a foot or more taller than her and more muscular, but he wants to see her take the damn thing on, “sure.”

“Light on your feet. Keep that head movin'!” The boxer tells her as she steps up into the crude boxing area and he steps out.

V cracks her knuckles as the automated training bot stands in front of her, the small merc raises her fists, all the only sign the droid needs to initiate combat mode. It swings a right hook at her and she dodges. A left hook next and she blocks, countering with her own punch, knuckles connected with it’s padded head. That first strike knocks it off balance enough to land two more, the bot stopping in defeat. Easy enough, maybe Coach Fred put it in easy mode?

“You got one helluva punch there, champ. Ever thought of monetizing it? I can arrange a fight or two. Whaddaya say?” The former coach asks her, sitting down on a bench.

She’s not so sure, most of her combat skills being focused on killing opponents and getting the drop stealthily. She can hold her own, but fighting a gangoon on the street where only one of them is going to walk away from it is different from a controlled fight with rules. Sparring with Jackie and the odd training session with Fred or Vik her only experience in boxing. But… money is money. She can give it a shot, go low stakes on the first one, she does well keep going. If she blunders it, no big loss.

“You arrange fights still?”

“Mmhmm and I think you got a knack for this, You've got sharp instinct, good edge. You can go far, especially if you get chipped. These fights… let's just say they aren't legal. Buuut… very lucrative.”

“And you get a cut, I assume.”

“I get a small percentage of the total winnings, you know, as your agent. You get the rest.”

“Of course, I’ll consider it, zip me the details of the first fight.”

“Like I said, good instinct.”

V rolls her eyes and continues through the service floor with a wave bye, passing by a Fuyutsuki and someone spray painting a cement wall. The bright neon red of the Second Amendment gun shop sign bathes the end of the services floor, just across from the elevator.

“V!” Wilson calls out and by god, why’d she turn on her hearing aids, “got some sweet new .45’s in, come take a look!”

“Can’t right now, in a rush, when I get back, promise!” She signs quickly, uses her elbow to jam the call elevator button.

It thankfully reaches her floor fairly quickly, allowing her to wave a quick bye to the older man, and stepping inside. There’s a slight relief as the doors close and she hits the floor she needs, the elevator carriage rocking into movement. While the screens still play advertisements, it's one sound, instead of a hundred. She uses some more lip balm, vanilla flavor on her lips and the sweet smell hitting her nose.

She adjusts the volume slightly on her hearing aids, lowering it just a bit more as the elevator comes to a stop. While not technically a services floor, the front entrance of the building is nearly as bad. There are at least ten or more restaurant stands in that area, V walking past everyone trying to sell her a burger or hot dog.

The sunlight hits her as she walks down the stairs that lead to her building and she spots Jackie, well his back. He’s sitting at a food stand that’s a very short walk from the building, because there certainly is not enough inside of the building. He’s got his face buried in a takeout box of synth-beef chow mein, not even noticing as V creeps up on him.

V’s nearly at his back and the street vendor raises an eyebrow, no doubt wondering if his customer is about to be robbed. Then she’s jumping to throw her arms around Jackie’s neck in a mock headlock, more so just hanging off the giant’s back.

“And its V with the headlock~” She jokes, voice low in his ear and he laughs. His chuckle making his chest vibrate and she can feel it.

“Someone’s feeling better,” he comments as she detangles from his back, “you, get your beauty sleep or…?”

He waggles his eyebrows at her as she climbs up onto the seat next to him, swinging a foot out to kick him. Her boot just bouncing back off his shin.

“I don’t kiss and tell, Jackie, you know that,” she signs and rolls her eyes, red flushing up her cheeks at the thought of giving details.

“Yeah, I just like seeing your face go that shade of pink, hehe.”

“I swear to god if your big news was just an excuse to give me shit.”

“Nah nah, got something to show you, first, chica.” Jackie grins ear to ear, like the cat that ate the canary. He tosses his trash into a bin and smacks her shoulder to follow him, bouncing like a kid on their way to the christmas tree.

“I’m already terrified,” she taunts as she hops down and follows him to a curb, a motorcycle parked there.

It's an Arch Nazare, slightly older model but not ancient by any stretch. From the sideview, the detailing is slick. Black with red branding and detailing, the exhaust and some pipework a bright gold color. The gold’s a little gaudy for her liking, But, she sideyes Jackie. His favorite red and black jacket, heavy gold jewelry bouncing on his chest. Gonk probably sunk more into the paint job then he did the actual bike. She can’t help but chuckle and when he proudly leans against the bike, his grin ear to ear, megawatt and shining brighter than the sun. When she peeks at the top detailing she can see a Calavara style skull decal on the dash. It screams Jackie.

“What’cha think, jaina?”

“It's beautiful and very you; how’d you manage to score a ride like that? Custom paint job too, I presume. Must have cost a pretty penny.”

“Muy peque, took out a loan , but ah, totally worth it. Got her on the cheap actually, Dorsett job dividend.”

“You already blew your cash from that job?”

“Someday you’re gonna have to actually spend your money and live a little, V, you know that?”

“Nothing wrong with saving back for something nicer down the road,” she retorts, thinking of her little jar of cash in the storage space beneath her bed. She’s been trying to take so much from every payday aside to save.

“And uh, what are you saving for again?”

“....a Kusanagi...or a Projectile Launcher...or a bigger apartment...or…”

“You’re stockpiling cash and you don’t even know what for, chica,” he laughs at her indecision, her ultimate splurge item she’s saving for changes weekly, “look, check this out.”

He straddles the motorcycle and turns the ignition, the Arch roaring to life and it’s… loud and rumbly, not even remotely subtle. She can picture it now, him showing up to a gig on it and getting blasted to pieces immediately.

“No, V, don’t,” he cuts the engine, pointing a finger at her from where he sits on the motorcycle.

“What?”

“Don’t make that face at me!”

“What face?”

“The face you make when you’re about to piss all over my parade.”

“I do not piss on your parade.”

“You do and you’re about to do it right now, I know you V, you got a billion thoughts rattling around that skull of yours and not one of them is good.”

“All I was going to say…”

“Mmhmm.”

“Is, you should maybe consider swapping out the tailpipe.”

“It’s got a rumble, the chicas love that.”

“It’s got a rumble that tells every gangoon within a twenty mile radius that you’re coming their way.”

“Fair enough.”

“And… you should probably tinker with the fuel injection too, upload a new map, and slap on some thermal tape until you fix the exhaust.”

“V!”

She folds her hands on his shoulder, then balances her chin on top of them, giving him puppy dog eyes. He’s huffy, not meeting her gaze. V knows damn well her tendency to be a buzzkill, especially in comparison to Jackie. Its a bad habit that always leaves her feeling guilty, but also an impulse, because...if she isn’t prepared for worst case scenarios...that’s death.

“But I am really happy for you, it's a gorgeous ride and you look like a total badass on it.” She whispers, close enough that only Jackie can hear, hoping the honey sweet words will make him feel better. And she can see the smile pulling at his lips, that soon becomes that big grin she loves as he finally meets her gaze.

“Okay, okay, your buzzkilling is forgiven. You can stop blowing wind up my ass.”

“Hehe,” her face drops with realization, “Jackie, where’s my car?”

“Oh, uh, I dropped it off to my guy, Miguel. Fixed it up like new, you can call it whenever you want. But I figured, you’d rather grab a ride on this baby.”

“Ooooh, hell yeah.”

“C’mon, was planning on stopping by Misty’s, lets go.”

That’s all the provocation V needs, hopping onto the back of the Arch. The backseat space is limited, Jackie taking up the vast majority of the seat. But she slips behind him easily, wrapping her arms around his stomach. Her hands can’t quite fully meet around him, having to just tangle her fingers in the front of his jacket. Then the engine comes roaring to life, Jackie taking off from the curb.

She can’t help but laugh, Jackie not holding back as they go speeding down the city roads. He blasts the radio, blaring a song she doesn't know from the bike's speaker, mingling with Jackie's laughter and the wind whipping around them.

But it's not overwhelming, not too much, never could be with Jackie.

They weave through traffic, riding on the middle lane and not letting anything stop them as they pick up more and more speed. She’s pressed tight against his back, leeching off his warmth as the wind manages to send a little chill up her spine. Her cheeks ache from grinning as they cruise over a hill in the highway, catching air for a moment, her entire body bouncing when the bike hits the road again. If not for her tight hold on his jacket, she might have gone flying which only makes her laugh harder.

He doesn't slow down until they start to reach the stretch of city where Misty's store and Vik's clinic are, Jackie slowly pulling up onto a curb to park. Their bodies shifting forward at the stop, V’s chest pressing even closer into Jackie’s back for a moment.

"Joyrides over, jaina," he says, playfully tapping her hand where it sits on his stomach.

She lets go, allowing her friend to pull away and get off the motorcycle. His body language starts to shift, as he stands in front of her, looking off somewhere else. He takes a deep enough breath that she can see his chest move with it, then he crosses his arms and kicks at the pavement.

"She's a smooth ride," V signs to him, swinging her legs over the side of the bike so she can face him directly. Is he second guessing his decision? She didn't mean to make him feel bad about the choice.

"Uh," Jackie scratches at the back of his neck, "remember what I said, about having big news?"

"Is..the Arch not the big news?" She asks, pulling a leg up onto the motorcycle and resting an elbow on her knee.

"Ah nah, I'm proud of it, but this...chica, is so much bigger than that.”

"Okay...you wanna tell me or…?"

"Got a sweet ass j-o-b lined up for us; you, me, and Bug."

"I get the feeling this is different from our usual gig.”

“I mean, maybe it's not as big as that,” he puts his hands on his hips and shrugs, trying to play coy with his news, “Just that it's fronted by a little-known someone named Dexter DeShawn.”

“What!?”

“Only the top fixer in Night-fuckin'-City! Fat-assed Black Jesus of the Afterlife. Three hundred pounds of partly gold-plated cool.”

Dex Deshawn is one of Night City’s best, a fixer known for working in the Afterlife club, where the best jobs and contracts are done. Two baby mercs like her and Jackie couldn’t dream to set foot in the place, still cutting their teeth and making their name. Hell, Dex hasn’t even been active in NC for two years and V’s still heard of him, leaving that much of a mark on the city. But, she chews the inside of her cheek.

“He’s back in the city?” She asks first, wanting as much detail as possible.

“Yeah, gang wars two years back. Somehow Dex got caught up in the craziness. Lotta bodies lyin' in the streets by the time the shootin' stopped. Eh, Dex got lucky, though. Managed to slip under the radar tir tempers cooled. Took a while… but he's made one hell of a comeback.”

“Two years is a hell of a break, the fuck was he doing?”

“Ah, guessin' he shoved pizzas in his mouth while jerkin' off to hardcore virtus. Important thing is he's back, needs a fresh crew and he found us.”

If he’s made such a comeback and is still that high up in the underground world, why would Dex come to them? They’ve been steadily building themselves up over the past six months sure, a solid network of fixers who work with them and a reputation for clean work. But, they still aren’t legends, not major league players. V isn’t even chipped much beyond the basics. People like Dex have a black book of borged out solos with corp money funding them, that can do basically anything they can do but better and quicker.

Only difference is, they’d be cheaper. So, unless he’s looking to exploit them for some rinky dink shit job…

“Okay,” she signs, deciding to just ask, “but why the hell would he be scouting us? You and me ain’t exactly major leagues yet.”

“You, me - nah. But T-Bug, she's the one that hooked us up, got us talkin’ knew it was a done deal the moment he laid eyes on me. 'Cause, c'mon - ain't nobody who can resist this. Am I right?”

“Wait, when? Where the fuck was I?”

“Uhhh, probably in the sheets with Cece, if I had to guess.”

“You said you had a date with Misty last night!?”

“I did, didn’t I.”

“What the fuck, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Dex is big on meeting his crew members one on one. Wanted to get a read on me, without anyone else around. No point in getting you excited until he was sold on me."

“Okay, fine,” she rolls her eyes, she would have appreciated a heads up, but there’s worse tragedies, “So, what��s the gig? He give you the specs?”

“Well, that's the thing, you see. Our lord and savior wants to tell you everything himself. Face to face, have your turn in the hot seat.”

“Oh, okay… how’d it go with you and Bug?” She can’t help the nerves suddenly bubbling up inside of her. V has to meet one of Night City’s top fixers, convince him she’s worth hiring. That’s only vaguely terrifying.

“Eh, not that bad, but… T-Bug and Dex go way back. And my face is yesterday's news, you’re the wild card here. Dex says he needs to check you, talk to you No pressure, but the whole thing is riding on you at this point.”

“Yeah, no pressure.”

“Ain’t as bad as you think, okay? Trust me. Dex is the real deal when it comes to fixers. Don't get me wrong, don't got nothin' against the Padre or Wakako, but… Dex is in a league of his own You know what I'm sayin'?”

“Still a fixer, may just be roping in the cheapest gonks he can find, so he can drop our corpses in the landfill once everything is said and done.”

“Hey now,” his tone dipping a little lower than usual, “didn’t pull you out of the trash just to see someone to throw you back in, mija.”

She doesn’t miss the softness in his eyes, the hazel green looking at her so affectionately, then his large warm hand ruffles through her hair, bringing that tinge of red back to her cheeks. Mija is a rare term of endearment from him, just that bit more familiar and sweet than his usual chica or jaina. As much as she worries, she knows if anything does go sideways, Jackie will be there to help her.

“I know that, Jackie,” she signs, then jabs his stomach, trying to dispel the tender mood, she searches for a topic switch,“so, when's the meet with Dex?”

"Uhh...now."

"What?"

"Just around the corner, next to Gramsci Burgers, he's waiting on you."

"What!?" She blinks, in disbelief. V has to meet him, today, now. Completely unprepared. Has Jackie lost his goddamn mind?

"Time sensitive stuff, V, we gotta get this ball rolling, and quick.”

“And you couldn’t have said any of this before?”

“No worries, you’ll be fine, I’m gonna go pop in to see Misty,” he points his thumb back over his shoulder, “while you talk us up and seal the deal, alright?”

“Not alright, none of this is alright.”

“You got this, chica, just make us look good.” With a heavy clap on her shoulder, he starts to walk away. Fucker.

“I’ll key your fucking bike!” She signs, upping the volume on her translator.

“Love you too, jaina, text me when you’re done!~” He yells back, knowing her threat is an empty one.

Then he’s gone, disappearing into the crowd around the storefronts. V groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. Why on earth does she let him do this shit? A heads up, that’s all she asks for. Now, she has a meeting with one of the most influential fixers in Night City, with no idea of what to say or how to handle it. Make them look good, how the hell does she do that? He’s a loud mouth and she’s deaf, they sound more like a sitcom duo than a competent pair of mercs.

V shuts off her choker translator and gets her mask from her bag, sliding it onto her face and putting her hood up. The young merc climbs down from Jackie’s bike, leaving the dusty boot print on the seat, a little bit of petty rearing its head. She wrings and twists her hands together as she walks towards Gramsci’s Burgers, boots stomping across trash strewn pavement. She passes by hot pink tinted windows in buildings with strippers dancing to entice passerbys, a large open alleyway where a few groups of homeless people cluster in together.

The merc keeps her head down as she passes a skirmish between a group of Tyger Claws and the NCPD, a blood bath beneath an overpass. Between pigs or tigers; she has no preference. Not her fight. The sound of an emp grenade being thrown, pushes the merc to change the side of the street she walks on, she’s gotten used to the violence of Night City before the smell.

Shaded beneath a cement overpass is a sleek black limousine; Chevillion Thrax 388 Jefferson. An expensive well armored vehicle, one that certainly suits a man of Dex’s status. If the car itself was not enough protection the six foot seven bodyguard standing outside the rear doors tops it off. A portion of his face silver plated and his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. She takes a few steps closer when the large stoic mass of a man sees her. He says nothing, only opening the rear door.

V swallows the lump in her throat and adjusts her mask; nerves pit in her stomach, a chilled sweat on her skin that doesn’t come from the August heat.

The smoke hits her first when she starts to climb inside the car, despite the open windows and door, choking her through her mask. If it were anyone other than Night City’s top fixer, she’d already be gone. Instead she sits in the leather seats, sitting next to Dex. While crude, Jackie’s description was apt.

Dex Deshawn is a large man; dark dreadlocks and a rounded belly. He puffs away on a cigar, his right arm gold from the elbow down. The fixer and Jackie have similar tastes in colors it seems; red, black, and gold. Gold cyberware, a gold watch, and gold chains all adorn the fixer. Red leather vest over a black shirt and red tinted sunglasses hiding his eyes. The guard shuts the car door.

“Miss V, masked merc herself. A pleasure,” he greets her, his voice deep and smooth. His bodyguard is moving to get into the driver's seat.

“Happy to meet you,” she signs and she can see a little twitch in his eyebrow, as her tech translates. Its unorthodox.

“Weren’t joking ‘bout you; no face, no name, and no voice,” he chuckles, seemingly amused at her quirks before speaking to the driver, “let's roll.”

A beat of silence, V’s mind already spinning at those words. Jackie is incredibly excited for this gig, she’d hate to be the reason it tanks, not to mention it’s a great chance for her too. A chance into the major leagues, to really prove herself and make bank doing it. But if Dex is… put off by her secretive tendencies and unorthodox presentation, that could spell disaster.

“Mind if I ask you something right off the bangle?” Dex’s voice pulls her back from her thoughts, the car moving as the fixer switches his cigar from gold fingers to flesh ones.

“Go for it.”

“Would you rather live in peace as Miss Nobody, die ripe, old and smelling slightly of urine? Or go down for all times in a blaze of glory, smellin' near like posies, 'thout seeing your thirtieth?”

The question takes her aback for a moment and the gears in her head start to turn. Honestly, she never even thought she’d make it to twenty. Felt like she’s been living on borrowed time ever since she was a kid; the first press of iron against her skull from her own father at nine. There are corpos pushing two-hundred and she can’t comprehend living beyond thirty. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t want a long, happy life. But, it’s never seemed like an option. She doesn’t necessarily want to die young, it just seems inevitable, but she can’t say she truly cares if she dies old either.

“Quiet life was never on the table for me. But, truth is, no matter the lifestyle you live, we’re all one stroke of bad luck away from death.”

“That so?”

“Look, I’ve been dodging death all my life. Been shot, beat, stabbed, hacked, strangled; you name it, someone’s done it to me. More close calls than I can count. And I’m still sitting here. This girl used to live with her sister, just a few floors above mine. Then she caught a stray bullet coming home from the gas station. Went to buy a snack and a gang fight broke out. She wasn’t in a gang, wasn’t a merc, just a nineteen year old kid who’d chat my ear off about how she wanted to have her own bakery one day. So, why did I make it to twenty and she didn’t? “

Death doesn’t discriminate and it doesn’t care what kind of life you’re trying to live. Its nipped at her heel all of her life, but hasn’t taken her and won’t until it’s damn ready. What’s the point in hypothesizing whether her life will kill her sooner or if she’d live longer if she settled down; neither are a guarantee of anything. She might as well live her life how she sees fit, hit the major leagues, and death will strike her whenever it sees fit. V has watched and heard so many tales of those in her megabuilding, good people, better than her… losing their lives for no good reason. Because there is none; no logic to suffering, no rhyme nor reason to why or when death takes us.

“Jackie did say you think too much,” Dex laughs, “though maybe he just doesn’t think enough.”

“Not the answer you wanted?”

“No right answer, just a pet topic of mine, helps get a read on people. T-Bug voted for the quiet life, been planning her retirement for years. Jackster went blaze of glory, no shock there. And then there’s you, throwing the whole damn question out.”

“Someone’s got to keep you on your toes.”

“Maybe so.”

There’s something in his slight grin, his tone, and smooth voice that tells her this is going well. That somehow, she hasn’t fucked this entire thing up, yet, emphasis on yet. Her hands itch to fiddle with her shirt, no longer signing and needing to keep busy. But she stifles that instinct, forces her leg to not bounce with nerves.

“A’ight,” Dex speaks up after a moment, “listen close. Scannin' a serious job, now. Plain gargantuan compared to smashin' up a scav haunt.”

So, she’s gotten the gig? Don’t act excited, she tells herself, exited puppy merc is not a good look.

“What’s the job?” Moments like this she’s so glad she’s nonverbal, her throat feels like sandpaper. Her palms sweaty as she signs.

“There's this… prototype tech - a biochip, to be precise. Job’s to grab it. Simple.”

“Simple, sure… Assuming the tech belongs to a corp?” It has to be something big for Dex to be scouting for it.

“Mhm - Arasaka. Surely that's no problem?” His brow raises above his glasses.

“Course not, corps fuck us over everyday, be a crying shame not to return the favor every now and again.”

“Shit, you ain’t playing around. Got a feelin' this could be a start of a beautiful friendship built on heaps of eddies.”

“One step at a time, you got some sort of plan for grabbing this chip?”

“Two things,” he holds up two gold plated fingers, “First's a conundrum with the Maelstrom boys. Needs active resolvin', that. Second's a rendezvous. Simple. Client who brought us the job's anxious. She wants to parley with one o' the team.”

V’s face scrunches; why would the client need to meet? Its unusual to say the least, clients don’t usually meet the mercs directly. That’s the entire point of a fixer, a middle man to get them in touch and keep the deal fair. They’ve already got in touch with the fixer and arranged the gig. The hell else do they need?

“What’s the client’s deal? Why she need to meet?”

“Woman's name's Evelyn Parker. Vettin' her wasn't easy. Put the word out was lookin' for any kinda intel…”

The merc rolls her fingers, when Dex’s words drop off, encouraging him to explain further.

“Some brothers from Pacifica got back to me. Tol' me to stop lookin', end of convo, heheh. Anyway, our lil client insisted on meetin' someone with skin in the game - you know, who'll be there for it all. Yours truly'll be remote, T-Bug ain't no people person, and Jackie's only good at some things - I know you know what I mean. Pretty much leaves you.”

“Because I’m sure being unable to see my face or hear my voice will put her right at ease, I’m sure.”

“Ain’t there to give her the warm fuzzies, Miss V. She needs to know I sent a solid merc who does solid work.”

She both gets it and doesn’t. Jackie is the most sociable of their little motley crew, but he can be hard to take seriously, coming across as a bit more goofy. Its not a dig, she loves that about him. But, if you’re trying to convince a client you’ve gotten the best mercs for a job it can be a detriment. T-Bug tends to make people, especially strangers, feel downright insulted. So, V supposes she presents as a middle ground. Serious, yet vaguely off putting in her presentation, but competent and she won’t call the client an idiot even if they are.

“Understood, whats the deal with Maelstrom?”

“Slot in the shard,” he explains, getting a shard from the door compartment, holding it out to her. She takes it and slots into her mask, the interface suddenly clouded with a map and UI interface.

“Got a classic tale for ya. Psychogang, doin' its thing two weeks back jumped a Militech convoy, got away with the gear. Corp don't even know Maelstrom's involved. Now see, convoy was carryin' the Flathead - a little combat bot, a prototype. And I need me that bit o' high-grade military tech. 'Cause if we don't get that bot, we don't get no 'Saka chip. An' we sure as hell don't get no happily ever after. But don't get excited, it's a single-use toy.”

The images shift to show her the bot and its details, it reminds her of a spider. A flat metal base with spindly legs from its sides. The serial coding of the tech comes up.

“Now, I flat out purchased the damn thing from Maelstrom. Problem is, I did so from a gent went by the name of Brick. I say "went" 'cause Brick was the leader. Three days after we'd sealed our deal, his friend and gangmate, one Simon Randall, AKA Royce, plain dropped his ass. Royce is in charge now.”

The interface shows Brick; his actual name Declan Griffin. He has the pretty standard Maelstrom look, more metal than flesh. Glowing red optics implanted into his face, sandy hair shaved on the sides. Then it switches to Royce; no less decked out, but bigger and wider built. His head completely shaved with a thick dark beard; his red eye optics seeming to go further back, like his entire frontal lobe might be gone. Standard Maelstrom attitude; scrap out the flesh that matters, switch it out with chrome and damned the consequences.

“ And I got no way of knowin' if he aims to honor his predecessor's word. To add to this ‘shitstrom,’ one Meredith Stout of Millitech has developed an interest in said convoy.”

A woman pulls onto the screen, long blonde hair slicked back off of her face, icy colored eyes and dressed in tight black corp clothes. Sharp facial features and cyberware around her left eye. Standard corp look. The shard deactivates, nothing more to show, the world comes back to her view.

“New leader, what’s his deal?”

“Straight psychopath- chrome-lovin' kind.”

“And the skirt?”

“Corpo agent, internal affairs, Been skittin' 'round town askin' after the convoy as if her life depended on findin' it. The one lead she got's zip-tied in her trunk. Stick up her ass ain't growin' any shorter, so she must be gettin' desperate. Be wise to think how you could use that,” he smirks, “ ‘Course, to do so you'll need that frazzled cat's info. Sendin’ it now.”

V’s holophone lights up, as Dex’s optics glow beyond his glasses, him sending her the contact information. She’s not entirely sure if and how she’d use the Militech angle.

“Okay, think I got everything I need to get to work.”

“Why that's just music to my ears. I'll set up the meet with Miss Parker at Lizzie's Bar. Flathead, though, is gonna be all you.”

They both go quiet for a moment, V thinking as Dex continues to puff away on his cigar. Dex seems to approve of her, going ahead and giving her the prep work, but this opportunity could still be lost. If the client doesn’t approve or the Maelstrom debacle goes sour. This isn't a done deal, not yet. But she got through step one, which feels herculean. But something is still nagging at her.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Something I wasn’t clear on?”

“Why us, me and Jackie? T-Bug I get, but why me and him?”

“Think I’d be better off looking elsewhere?”

“No, no, I ju-”

“Chill, I’m just teasing, Miss V. I get it, really, not even a year in the city, right?”

“Yeah…”

“As far you’re concerned you’ve barely cut your teeth, right? Wondering why I’m scouting someone out who’s still in merc diaper?”

“About sums it up.”

He’s laughing again, seeming to find her confusion funny, or maybe there’s a joke she’s missing. But that doesn’t make the knot in her stomach go down any easier.

“Talent don’t always recognize itself, I suppose,” he laughs, “thing is I took a break from the city for a good two years and its left me with… a bit of appetite. Wanted to scout a fresh team. New Bug from before and I heard Jackie name around before I took my leave, just in passing not a merc you’d look twice at. Heywood boy with some messy work.”

“Hmm,” she hums behind her mask, hoping this isn’t going to be Dex shit talking Jackie.

“Nothing against the cat, I know you’re chooms, but when I get back to NC and start looking for talent; well turns out Bug is working with Jackie on the regular. Ask her what’s changed, tells me he got himself a new partner. Skilled merc who’s helping him out; stealthy, effective, and damned good at what she does. Bug don’t give out compliments like candy. Ask around a little more, well, damn near every fixer’s got something to say about Jackie and his newest partner Miss V. Six months and she’s more talked about than some mercs who’ve been doing this for years.”

“I don’t know about all that.”

“Believe it or not, I got a couple years on you, Miss V,” he jokes, “so trust me, I know talent when I see it.”

“Thanks.”

Silence falls back over the car ride, V taking in what he’s said. He’s blowing smoke, he has to be, she’s not anything special or talented. She just does a job like anyone else. Maybe Bug’s word does mean a lot, but V still can’t say she’s doing anything more than anyone else.

“One more thing, Miss. V,” Dex says as the car takes a turn, “Quiet life or blaze o' glory?”

She can’t say she has a more concrete answer, still not confident she prefers one to the other. V can’t imagine herself doing anything else, she’s not cut out for it. But, doesn’t mean there aren’t parts of that life she doesn’t crave. Stability, security, and eventually settling down; doesn’t sound too bad. She finds herself thinking of Jackie and Misty. Despite Jackie wanting the blaze of glory, she knows he talks about marrying Misty and having kids one day. His life no more quiet than hers, but he still has plans of becoming a husband and father…

The car starts to slow, pulling up to the curb around Kabuki Market, construction work scaffolding lining a space between two buildings.

“Later, now,” Dex gives a short farewell as the car stops and V gets out of the limo, scuffing her boots across the pavement. The limousine pulls away, leaving V alone on the sidewalk. An empt

She tugs her holophone from her pocket, pulling up Jackie’s contact. The first ring barely starts before he’s answering; his face in a video call panel in her mask’s optics. There’s no doubt in her mind that he’s been messed up with anticipation.

“Just got done chatting with our new fixer.”

“Heheh. Gordito's a big deal - literally and not, yeah?”

“Intense, but guess I faired alright, wants us to klep some tech, but we got prepwork first.There's this combat bot, military prototype. Maelstrom grabbed it. He paid to take it off their hands and then they had a switch in management.”

“Right, right, heard about that. Royce versus Brick - hostile takeover.” Jackie’s tone is terse, uneasy. Valentinos and Maelstrom have a history, while Jackie might have left the Heywood gang, it doesn’t mean that history is suddenly gone.

“Yeah, we got to talk to the new guy, Also gave some details of a Militech agent, in case we could use her to get what we want.”

“Ehhh, I don’t know about that, chica. Militech’s more likely to cut you throat than cut you a deal.”

“Not a fan of getting the corp involved either, but I sincerely doubt they’ll just hand it over. And I really don’t want to have to spend eddies on a tech he already bought.”

“It’s your call V, but I say keep the corpos sidelined.”

“Well, then there’s the other thing. Client who puts the job on the job wants to meet with me.”

“What? Why?”

“Apparently, she’s intent on meeting someone who will be there directly, I got the go ahead.”

“The fuck is Dex gonna do? Ride around in his limo, chat chicks up on the holo?”

“Hey, said it yourself, his job means his rules.”

“Must know what he's doin'… So, how you wanna play this? Maelstrom or Client, what's first?

“Client, she’s the one putting the job on the table. If she doesn’t give us the nod, then there’s no point in risking our neck with Maelstrom.”

“Orale, In that case, I'll head to All Foods, put my nose to the ground, sniff around. Hasta luego.”

Jackie hangs up and V sucks in a heavy breath; checking the time on her holophone. It’s five, an hour until six which is when Lizzie’s opens up. That alone seems like, an interesting choice on the client’s behalf. A braindance club run by the Mox, one of the only gangs V can say she genuinely likes. It’s made up of mostly sex workers who defend other sex workers. The club is mostly used for people to get braindances of the sex workers; but there’s a bar and dancefloor as well. V and Jackie have been there on gigs before. Not a bad little joint, but she has to wonder if this means the client is a Mox, a joytoy trying to rob Arasaka blind?

Speculation will get her nowhere, she decides, rubbing her face under her mask. She has some time and she’s not far from where T-Bug said she should pick up her little gift. A layered roof store on the top of two floored structure across the street, a bridge over the road leading her to it. Having to find a stairway outside the marketplace that loops around to the bridge.

T-Bug sent her to a dark little netrunning shop where a girl wearing dark glasses works at the desk. The exchange doesn’t take long, T-Bug had the clerk save back a Ping quickhack. A fairly basic little daemon that works with V’s mask, contacts, and internal cyberdeck. The clerk lets her play with it, pinging their security camera. Then V’s finding herself leaving the store with barely five minutes killed.

She fiddles with her phone, considering the Militech woman’s contact. Jackie’s right, not that she needed the reminder that corps are a fucking nightmare. But, the truth is she doesn’t truly know what the hell to do about Maelstrom. They need the bot; Dex made that clear. But the chrome loving gangoons don't really like to honor their deals, they’d sooner carve out V’s tongue and replace it with a cyber one just to see what happens. They’re going to expect Jackie and V to pay again. Or they’ll expect a war. And starting a war with a gang, on their turf, while they’re fresh off robbing a Militech convoy… Its a death sentence.

Fuck it, won’t hurt just to meet with the corpo, see if it gives her any ideas. V’s smart enough to handle herself against any corpo bullshit, she decides. Sorry Jackie. She presses the contact and rings Meredith Stout. In a short moment, the corpo woman’s image is in the video call panel. She looks just as she did in the shard, black formal clothes, slicked blonde hair; though the video panel has a layer of smoke as she puffs away on a cigarette.

“Stout here. Start by telling me how you got this number,” she says, a cold sharp tone and it sounds like there's a man groaning, struggling somewhere out of view.

“Little birdy told me you lost a convoy,” V teases, and can see Stout’s expression draw tight, brows furrowed. Then theres another groan, louder and sharper.

“You! Shut him up!” a smack rings out, “Spill what you know. Don't make me wait.”

“Not over the phone, meet me in person and we’ll cut a deal.”

“A deal… Fine. First exit off Skyline driving towards the NID. Storm channel under the overpass - meet you there.”

It’s still not that far away, roughly a five minute drive through China Town and up to Northside. Balls deep in Maelstrom territory; meaning Militech must already have an idea of who’s stole their shit. Not that they truly need the tech back, the militarized corp could lose a few hundred tanks and not see a dent in their bottom line. But pride or something.

She calls her car from her holophone when she reaches the road, her car pulling next to her in just a few moments. V climbs into her car and cringes when the radio turns on as soon as she starts the engine, Jackie’s station of choice coming on. She flips it off and drives, watching as Night City somehow manages to get worse as she gets closer to the meeting spot. Northside, use to be a hub of jobs and opportunity, now its just abandoned buildings covered in Maelstrom graffiti. V would call it the bad part of Night City, if not for every other part of Night City. But it is the biggest eyesore. Hell, Pacifica is a crime infested mess, but at least your mugging will have an ocean view.

V doesn’t go all the way down below the overpass, choosing not to meet them directly and immediately by going through the tunnel. Instead, she takes a left near Charter Street, going up towards the top of the overpass. She stops as the road is cut off by rickety metal gating, a homeless man passing through. V parks and walks through, there’s a bridge that crosses over the storm channel and she drops to a crouch as she walks over it. Getting a look at what waits for her below.

A Chevillion Ragnar Militech van; painted sleek black and armored beyond comprehension. Three people; two muscular guards and Meredith. The guards are chipped to hell and back; intensive cyberware. Something to be expected of any Militech employees, especially ones hired for muscle. There’s a small, childish, urge to hop down and surprise them. But that very well could end with her being shot. Instead, she behaves, makes sure her gun is loaded, and takes the stairs down; ill maintained metal steps with chipping yellow paint.

“Look lively!” Meredith calls out to her men as she catches sight of V, her expression nearly wrinkled with disgust at the sight of the masked merc, but extends her hand, “Meredith Stout. Take it you were the one to call.”

“That’s me,” V starts to sign with one hand and goes to shake the corpos hand with her other.

Then a fist collides the side of her head, quick, heavy it shoots pain through her skull. She’s knocked to the side, falling to the ground, stars dance in her vision. She fumbles to get her knife and stand up, but the guard is quicker, grabbing her wrists and yanking her up to her feet, just to wrench her hands behind her back. He’s easily over a foot taller, able to pull the small merc around and hold both wrists in one hand. Holding V back as Meredith draws closer, gloved hands reaching out and ripping the merc’s mask off, revealing the glowering blonde behind it.

“Thought you could blackmail me, bitch!” Meredith pushes her fingers into V’s hair, then yanking and tugging the merc’s head to the side as the guard shoves a jack into her neural port, “Set conditions?! Got any more for me?!”

V spits in Meredith’s face, her skull is white hot with pain between the yank of her hair and the punch. She can’t help but grin, watching her spit stick to to the corpo’s skin. Meredith lets go of V’s hair; reeling her hand back then smacking her across the face, sharp and strong enough to make the merc’s head move. Meanwhile the guard does god knows what, without her mask or contacts, V has no optic interface to tell her what’s being done; what the Militech goon could be doing.

The van doors open for a second behind Meredith, the other guard yanking a man out of it at gunpoint. A small, weasley guy in a suit with a face bruised black and blue.

“Christ Meredith!” He yells out.

“Shut your trap!” she looks at the guard holding V, “That fucking thing ready?

“All set.”

Leather clad fingers dig into V’s chin, Meredith forcing her head up, no doubt leaving bruises across the merc’s face, “Now answer my questions. Honestly. Forthrightly. Are you here alone?”

“I use ASL,” V forces herself to growl out, blood boiling. Who the fuck does this cunt think she is? Not only has V’s comfort of anonymity been ripped away, but her preferred form of communication is too.

“Sounds like you speak English just fine to me, now answer my fucking question, are you here alone!?”

“Yes. You crazy fuckin’ cunt, I’m here alone!”

“Its the truth,” the guard says, a fucking lie detector, of course.

“Do a sweep, now,” Meredith commands and a silver drone leaves the back of the van.

“Now listen close. This piece of shit,” she looks at her other captive, “Anthony Gilchrist is he your contact? Is he the one who leaked intel on the convoy?”

“Get your fucking hands off of me!”

“You answer to me bitch, Anthony Gilchrist!”

“Got no fuckin’ clue who he is or why I’m suppose to give a shit!”

“Checks out,” the guard tells Meredith.

“Came here cause I know who jacked the convoy, where the tech is.”

“Hmmm,” Meredith hums.

“I told you, I fucking told you, I’m not the mole!” Anthony screams out.

“Shut him up!”

“Unhand me now before I-- ungh!” Without another word Anthony is shoved back into the van.

“Her, you can let go. I wanna hear what she has to say.”

The guard rips the jack out from her neuroport and lets go of her wrists. The skin is bruises she notices as she grabs her mask off the ground, the snaps thankfully not broken as she slides it back on, tension in her shoulders easily only slightly with her face covered and arms free.

“We’re a little beyond that now, don’t you think,” Meredith remarks snidely, rolling her eyes.

“Fuck you,” V signs first thing.

“Stop wasting my god damn time, what do you want?”

“Gang has your tech, given where we are, I assume you know which one. All I want is one combat bot from it, thought we could help each out, but I’m not so sure.”

“Hmm, you have a plan of how to deal with them?”

“They’re expecting payment, but I don’t have the eddies laying around.”

“Course you don’t,” Meredith quips and V rolls her eyes.

“So, without cash, the option is to take it by force.”

“You’ll pay, but with our money.”

Meredith holds out a credchip shard, little chips that hold a certain amount of cash on them. V chews the inside of her cheek, looking at the green shard held in a gloved hand, it seems too good to be true. Because it certainly is. But, she takes the credchip.

“You pay with that chip, and that's all you gotta worry about. Try to fuck me in any way, and I'll be seeing you real soon,” Meredith delivers a final threat before climbing into the van, her last guard clambering into the drivers seat.

“You're making a mistake,” Anthony screams from inside the van as it takes off “This cunt's already good as dead! And she'll take you down with her!”

And then they’re gone; V left with a bruised face, a tender scalp, and a credchip in her hands. Jackie was right, she’s sure, god knows aligning with corps isn’t her way of doing things. There’s no way in hell, a Militech rep is just going to hand off ten grand without a plan.

V takes quick and steady steps back up the stairs and she sees it as she gets above the storm channel. The Militech drone, still hovering. Following her, tracking her. Her hands on her pistol in the next second, promptly shooting the drone down in sputtering sparks. Meredith can fuck off if she thinks V is just going to lead them to the Maelstrom hideout.

The assault and interaction bit up a chunk of time, so she climbs back into her car, time to meet the client. Anxiety pitted tight in her gut as she drives back down the Night City roads.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #jackie welles #meredith stout #johnny silverhand #silverv #eventually #aidan becker #aidan v becker #female v #can you feel the sun?

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damn-behzinga · 5 years ago

Text

I Can’t Wait For Forever

Ethan Payne (Behzinga) X Reader

summary - The Sidemen film your’s and Ethan’s wedding, here are the fan favourite bits.

warnings - lack of father figure, panicking, swearings, my terrible writing

request - Could you do something with ethan where it's your wedding day or something. Thank you x

Hey if it alright could you do an ethan imagine where it's our wedding day and maybe its filmed by the sidemen x it's alright if you dont

masterlist and request info

You and Ethan had gotten engaged a year and a half before you officially got married. Ethan proposed at your anniversary and you had announced it a few days later.

You had chosen to get married at an old manor house which had a beautiful garden especially during the summer you were due to get married in.

When you and Ethan gave your invites to the lads, Ethan sat them down and finally asked, "Will you lads be my groomsmen?"

The boys all beamed and pulled Ethan into a hug and started jumping. You chuckled and smiled softly, watching the boys interact.

"So, who's your best man then?" JJ asked, a grin on his face.

Ethan grinned and sighed. "I chose Charlie." The boys all looked at one and other sighed.

"What?" JJ exclaimed.

"Well, when you guys get married, Josh will choose Tobi and vice versa, Vik will choose Harry and vice versa, and Simon will choose JJ and vice versa. I didn't want to pick one of you lot over the other." Ethan explained. The pairs all nodded understanding completely, knowing not to argue with the groom to be.

"Can we film it?" Harry asked.

"I'll have to talk to y/n, but it could be fun. You guys could film you guys practising. I think we were planning on filming the wedding anyway."

You had agreed, thinking it would be fun if the men filmed their perspective of the wedding and how their morning went. So the men filmed the day and how the rehearsal the day before went.

You stood at the entrance of the manor house, You watched as each of the pairs of brides and grooms made their way up to alter before going to their respective side. First to walk up was Charlie and your best friend Lucy, followed by Simon and Talia, then JJ and Becky. As Harry and Katie walked up to the alter they unlinked their arms and quickly separated causing Ethan to groan.

"You come up to there and then walk away not walk away straight away! Have you lot been to a wedding before?" You laughed at Ethan's comment as Harry chuckled and apologised. They were followed by Josh and Freya, Tobi and Gee, and then Vik and your friend Steph. Then it was your two young cousins, the flower girl and page boy. The walked down the aisle together and then ran up to give Ethan a hug. Josh and Harry were messing around with the cameras not really paying attention to talk about what was happening to the viewers.

You had decided on pink dresses for the bridesmaids and blue suits for the groomsmen. Ethan wore a black suit which contrasted your white trumpet figured dress that had a long train. The dress had long sleeves and an open back, showing off your figure but also letting your remain covered.

The groomsmen were on the other side of the hotel and didn't tell you that JJ had lost his jewellery. Ethan was panicking trying to find this jewellery that you had spent way too long picking out. Ethan tried to remain calm for the camera and continued to search. Vik and Josh were calming him down as Simon, JJ, and Tobi were searching for the missing cufflinks. Ethan started to calm down and pulled out his phone to call his mum.

He put it on speaker his mum answered.

"Hello, darling, are you okay?" His mum's voice rang out. "Everything going smoothly?"

"Jide has lost his jewellery so they're searching for that and I'm nervous and excited and-"

"Has he checked the drawer next to the bed and the floor around it?" His mum interrupted. Ethan looked at the lads who quickly searched the area his mum pointed out. JJ held up the lost jewellery and gave a small sorry smile.

"You're a lifesaver!" Ethan groaned into the phone and his mum just chuckled.

"Anyway, you better not be getting cold feet right now!" His mother scolded. "Y/n is too lovely for that."

"No, I want to marry her. I can't wait to marry her!" Ethan exclaimed. "We've been planning this for a year and I don't want to get anything wrong."

"Everything will be fine. I promise you." Ethan's mum said calmly. "I can't wait to walk with you down the aisle."

Ethan got emotional talking to his mum, just a few months ago Ethan had cried to you about how he wasn't going to have a dad to walk down the aisle with or have a dad dance with you when you switched parents after the first dance. You had insisted that it was okay to dance with his mum and that you'd just have to switch it up.

"I'll see you in fifteen minutes, love." Ethan's mum said softly. Ethan said his goodbyes and hung up.

You and Ethan had decided to do a first look video before the actual ceremony because you wanted Ethan's genuine reaction. Ethan had waited and then you walked up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Ethan nervously turned around and as soon as he saw you, he bought a hand to his mouth and he looked you up and down.

"Hi." You whispered.

"You look- wow. You look so beautiful." He said softly. He grabbed your hand and squeezed it lightly, his other hand reached up stroked your sleeved arm softly.

"Stop. I'm going to cry!" You exclaimed.

"Don't cry, your make up took so long!" Talia said, and the two of you laughed.

You soon had to separate and go settle down so you could walk down the aisle.

Ethan linked arms with his mum, getting ready to walk down the aisle. His mum pulled him down and planted a kiss on his cheek. And then it was time. Ethan walked down the aisle and made eye contact with his friends who smiled cheerily at him. Ethan stopped at the aisle and turned to kiss his mum's cheek. She grinned at him and patted his arm softly, tapping three times, a small sign they came up with when Ethan was a child to show that she loved him, Ethan tapped three times back. His mum took her seat and Ethan stood at the aisle. He greeted the celebrant and shook his hand.

"Congratulations." The celebrant smiled.

"Thank you so much." Ethan mirrored his smile.

Music started playing and Ethan immediately turned to watch the groomsmen and bridesmaids walking down the aisle. They all remembered what they had to do which relieved Ethan a bit. Ethan hugged your young cousins and they quickly moved on. Ethan then watched as you appeared at the other end of the hall, holding arms with your dad. You made eye contact with Ethan and waved quickly. He grinned and walked down the three steps to take your hand. He shook your dad's hand and you kissed your dad's cheek. Your dad took his seat as Ethan walked you up to the small stage.

As the celebrate started his speech, you stared at Ethan and grabbed his hand and stroked it softly.

"And now for the vows." The celebrant smiled, passing Ethan the microphone.

Ethan took a deep breath and started to recite his vows, "When we met, I was a lost person looking to be found. During dark times, you were my flashlight. During hard times, you were my sense of relief. During times when I felt as though I had nothing left in me, you helped me get back up and fight. So now, as I look at you in front of me as beautiful as ever, I can say with confidence that you are the embodiment of joy, kindness, love, life, and happiness. You helped me grow to be a better person and I can't thank you enough. I vow to always respect and value your opinions. I vow to listen to your rants about whatever show you're watching that I don't understand. I vow to try to never hurt you. I vow that no matter what happens, I will stand by your side. I vow to remind you of how beautiful you are in every way. I vow to be a shoulder to cry on when we rewatch Marley And Me. I vow to be the best I can for you and so much more."

You wiped your tears and chuckled softly at him before reciting your vows. "I was always known as the quiet, awkward girl in the back of the room but when I met you, you made me feel listened to and understood. When I couldn't get out of bed for the day because everything seemed too much, you would go out of your way to help me get up and relax. You were my reason then, my reason now, and my reason every day. When I felt I was stuck at the bottom of the mountain with no way of getting up, you provided climbing equipment and climbed with me. You have never left me behind and I can't thank you enough for that. I vow to give you my all and help you during hard times. I vow to watch football with you even though I don't understand what's going on. I vow to be most truthful self in front of you even if it's the ugly truth. I vow to be a shoulder to cry on when you watch Marley and Me because, although you won't admit it, you've cried more times over that than me. I vow to be by your side no matter what life throws at us. And I vow to love you as much as I can."

And soon after, the celebrant announced that "You may now kiss the bride.". Ethan cupped your cheek and pulled you into a kiss and dipped you slightly. You pulled apart and started to walk down the aisle towards the car that waited for you outside. You got into the car and waved at your friends before they drove you to the hotel where you spent some quality time together.

An hour later you arrived at the reception where the two of you were welcomed with a round of applause and cheer. You made your ways to the seats and people started raising their glasses as Josh stood to make a speech.

"When I met Ethan, he was a fat kid playing Fifa in Essex. We got along really well and there was a moment where me and Ethan, a few years later we were sitting on the couch after a shoot and he turned to me and he said he had gone on a date with this girl that he really liked. And I found that her name was y/n." Josh smiled at the two of you. "They hit it off and we met her a month later and dinner. And as y/n left to go to the bathroom, Ethan turned to us and said 'I'm going to marry that girl'." Ethan chuckled and blushed. "And all of us at the dinner had known that this was going to last forever. Y/n balanced Ethan out and after Ethan had told me he thought he was going to die alone, it was nice to see Ethan so hopeful about love. Y/n didn't like him because he was Behzinga or a YouTuber, she liked him for him, and Ethan needed a person like that in his life. So, as I stand here today, I want to thank Y/n for always being genuine and not letting Ethan getting too big of a head. I would wish you luck for the future ahead but I already know that you two are going to stand together through everything. So, I wish that you two live a happy and healthy life together because you deserve it. Thank you." Everyone clapped as you wiped away a few loose tears.

Your dad had stood up to make a speech. "There are times when I look at y/n and I see her as the girl I held in my arms, moments after she was born. When y/n was a teenager she made the decision to move to London, she was only eighteen and eager to live her life to the fullest. I remember a few years later during one of our weekly calls that she was going out with this guy called Ethan. Now I met Ethan a few months later because something had happened and we came together to help Y/n. Ethan was nervous meeting me and my wife but we quickly proved to him that y/n was the most important thing to us and she was to him as well." You sniffled as your dad made the speech. "It was so surreal having Ethan come up to me and ask me if he could take y/n's hand in marriage, and I remember turning to him and saying that he didn't need to ask because I was already so supportive of their relationship that I was surprised they weren't married already. I already have a beautiful daughter but I am so happy to welcome Ethan into our family with open arms." You cried and gave your dad a hug, not wanting to let go.

You had eaten your food and soon it was the first dance, Ethan and you had practised your slow dance for months and you were relieved when you managed to get to the final dip successfully. You danced with your dad and Ethan danced with his mum, softly whispering to one and another about how proud they were. You had talked with Ethan about dancing with your mum but Ethan felt off because he didn't have a dad for you to dance with. So, as Ethan started to dance with your mum, you took his mum's hands and started swaying with her. Ethan met your eyes across the dance floor and smiled at you. You then cut into the red velvet cake and fed it to each other.

You continued to dance with everyone, socializing with all the guests, eager to see them all. And obviously you had to play some top tunes so when Beerus came on, all you jumped to the dance floor and hyped JJ up. The night was full of love and laughter and you wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Right, welcome back to Sidemen Sunday and before we get into it, let's give a round of applause to Ethan in his first Sidemen video being a married man!" Josh cheered. Ethan grinned at the camera, showing off his new wedding ring as everyone cheered.

"How does it feel to be married?" Vik asked.

"Like the same, except I have a ring on." Ethan joked. "Nah, I've never been happier. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me and I got to share the experience with you guys and we filmed it so I can hold that memory forever."

"Thank you for letting us be groomsmen." Tobi smiled

"Still pissed you didn't choose me to be best man." JJ huffed jokingly.

"Anyways." Ethan rolled his eyes. "I loved it and you guys coming up with the idea to film getting ready, that was brilliant."

"I watched the videos you guys did without me whilst I was on honeymoon and you lot lost the plot without me lads." Ethan chuckled.

"How was your honeymoon? You went to South Korea right?" Simon asked.

"It was good actually! Lovely weather, we did so much, it was surreal!" Ethan chuckled. "Honestly, go there if you have the chance.

"Anyways, shall we move on with the video?" Josh asked and then everything quickly went back to how it usually was in a sidemen video, except this time, Ethan got to say 'My Wife'.

#behzinga x reader #sidemen #ethan payne #behzinga #ethan payne x reader #behzinga imagine #behzinga fanfiction #behzinga fluff #ethan payne imagine #ethan payne oneshot #ethan payne fanfiction #sdmn

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sideshowyelling · 4 years ago

Text

Knocked Down, Dragged Out, pt. 1

I decided I wanted to post this properly here instead of just a link. V meets a ripper, one that’s too good for the slums of Night city...

“That’s not his real name. I refuse to believe that’s his actual name.”

Really it had been the way that Jackie had talked Viktor up as a whole that made him seem too good to be true, like some unobtainable perfect ripper who would be able to patch V up no matter what shit show they had just gone through time and time again. Good work, trustworthy guy, and cheap? The guy might as well have been a walking contradiction if anything Jackie was telling him actually held any weight. Most of the time you were lucky to get two out of three, and finding someone who was the whole package deal… well V had always figured that they would have a better chance at winning one of those rigged fucking lottery pools than finding someone like Jackie was describing.

“Viktor Vektor? Sure fuckin’ is, his mama gave him that name. Think she must have hated him or somethin’… I’m telling you though V, Ol’ Vik’s the best in town, mark my fuckin’ word.” Jackie said, leaning against the food stall that the two had stopped at for a bite to eat just outside of V’s megabuilding.

“Yeah? There’s ripperdocs all over town, what makes this one so special?” V asked, not bothering to look up from their own takeout container that they were doing little more than picking from at this point.

“What can I say? He’s got the magic touch, make you feel better than you have in years, I guarantee.” Jackie said.

It wasn’t hard to see just how excited Jackie was to be able to introduce V to Viktor, to make a connection between an old friend, and his newest partner in crime. He’d been mentioning that he had a guy he wanted to have V meet if they were going to be working together as closely as they were, they needed someone who could put them back together again after a rough job if they were ever going to really make it big in this city after all. This wasn’t just a doctor to Jackie though, no, this guy was so much more and it showed.

“Come on Jack, is he a ripper or a joy-toy? I really can’t tell with the way you’re talking about him...” V asked.

The laughter that got out of Jackie was a bit surprising to V, but it was deep and genuine so it brought a smile to their face all the same. “Oh man, tell that one to his face, he’ll get a good laugh out of it too.” Jackie said, finally finishing up his own food before he tossed his to-go container into a nearby trashcan as he stood up from his seat. V followed suit, crossing their arms over their chest as they followed after him. Jackie may have been just about as excited as V had ever seen him before, but they still had their apprehensions about the whole thing.

“If he’s so good at what he does, and for fuckin’ zilch compared to the prices of some other docs around town, then… why the hell haven’t I heard of him before? I’m no fixer but I still keep a pretty damn good ear to the ground, especially in this part of town.” They said.

“Simple, cause he deals in referrals only for his appointments. Doc’s gotta be able to trust their patient every bit as much as their patient’s gotta trust them, right? I haven’t brought too many chooms to see him before, so consider yourself lucky V, you’re getting the preem slumcare-healthcare today.” Jackie said.

“Low prices and a short patient list, sounds like a good way to go out of business to me.” V said with a shake of their head, staring down at the ground as they made their way through the streets with Jackie at their side. Just a short walk from their apartment was what Jackie had told them. How fucking convenient.

“Trust me, it ain’t about the money for him, V, you’ll see.” Jackie assured, clapping V on the shoulder and dragging them closer until they were walking side to side with Jackie’s arm thrown over them. They looked up at him, and the excited gleam in his eyes was enough to ease their concerns just a little bit.

Their short walk ended with them standing inside one of the last places that V expected to be that day; a shop front that not only dealt in spiritualism, an already niche interest in a city so grounded and built on the bodies of corporate sellouts, but one that was ran by Jackie’s own damn girlfriend. She might have been the last person they expected to see, but V greeted her with a smile all the same, giving a quick look around the eclectic shop at the trinkets and knick-knacks for sale as Jackie went to lean across the front desk to steal a kiss from Misty.

“Hey baby, Vik ready for us yet?” Jackie asked, and Misty shook her head, pointing her thumb towards the back of the shop as she spoke.

“Not yet, he’s got Laurie down there right now. She was running real late today and… well, you know Vik, he’s not gonna turn her away unless he has to, not when she was as haggard looking as she was when she finally got here. Shouldn’t be long now though, I’ll let you know as soon as his chair’s empty and wiped down.” She said, looking between V and Jackie both before motioning to her own empty shop chair. “Maybe while you’re waiting I could offer you some of my services? On the house...”

“Awwe, ain’t that sweet, V? VIP treatment for the both of us.” Jackie said, pushing himself off the counter and making his way over to the chair to have a seat while they waited.

“I can’t say I’m surprised Jackie,” V said, watching as a small smirk spread on Misty’s lips, and her eyes stayed locked on him as she followed Jackie over towards her chair to kneel down beside him. “I think the shopkeep has a bit of a crush on you...”

“Oh yeah? Maybe I ought to see if I can get her number then...” Jackie mused with a playful wink aimed at his girlfriend, already admiring the hit of a flush on her cheeks with his light teasing.

“If you don’t I sure as hell will...” V said, though no sooner than the words left their lips did V lift their hands up in a defensive way when Jackie shot them the nastiest look he could, silently daring them to continue that train of thought. “Kidding, you know I’m kidding. Not about to step on any toes, especially not yours. Besides, you two might as well be pure sugar, gonna make me fuckin’ puke with how sweet guys are…. You better tip her well though, Jackie, I mean it.”

“Oh I tip her real good V, don’t you worry about that.” Jackie said, cackling to himself before grunting as Misty reached out to place her hand in the center of Jackie’s chest and give him a little shove to get him laying back flat in the chair. She may not have been the strongest person ever, but V knew better than to assume she couldn’t handle herself. Once Jackie was laid back in the chair, he gave her a sheepish grin and the best puppy dog eyes he could muster, but she didn’t seem as weak to them as V was.

“Watch what you’re saying, Jackie, or when V heads down I’ll pull out my acupuncture kit.” Misty said lowly.

V watched as Jackie’s expression quickly morphed into a pained grimace, and he jabbed a thumb up towards Misty as he turned towards V to explain. “She’s still learning...” He said grimly, before tilting his head back to look up at Misty again. “Babe, you know I’m more than happy to let you practice on me, but V’s appointment ain’t gonna last long enough for somethin’ like that. Just introducing them to Vik and getting them in his system, you know?”

“Ooh, that’s right,” Misty said, turning her attention over to where V was busy flipping through a little booklet that Misty had set out for sale on star signs. “You haven’t met Viktor before, have you? Are you Nervous, V?” She asked.

For a moment V paused and looked up in thought, because really their anxiety about the appointment had been coming and going since the night before. They couldn’t quite place why, but it would creep up on them at odd moments. Here and now though, when they were watching Jackie and Misty talk about it with excited looks in their eyes… “No? Not really, why? Should I be?” They asked. “With the way Jackie has been talking about the guy, it sounds like I’m about to have a new best friend.”

“I meant more… well, just going to see a new ripper can be a little stressful sometimes, especially one not as well known. He doesn’t get new patients very often, and there’s not a lot of buzz on the street about him, and that can make some people uneasy.” Misty said with a small smile. “Dr. Vektor’s got a bit of a grumpy face, sure, but he’s actually a sweetheart if you’re doing good by him.” She assured.

“Oh-ho Misty you better be careful talking about Vik like that, would hate to get him griping about people thinking he’s ‘going soft’ or something like that.” Jackie said with a deep laugh.

“Where the hell did you even meet this guy, Jack?” V asked.

“Met him in a fight actually, boxing match years ago that was damn near fuckin’ legendary man. Never met someone who’s given me as big a run for my money… I laid him out flat in the end though, had him seeing stars I think.” Jackie said, but even as he boasted there wasn’t really a smug air around him. He looked more like he was fondly reminiscing on the day he punched his friend’s lights out.

“You know, the more you talk about him, the less I actually believe the guy even exists.” V said. No sooner than they had said this though, a green light accompanied by a low buzzer went off on Misty’s desk, drawing everyone in the room’s attention to it. Jackie patted the arms of the chair he was sat in as he pushed himself up, Misty standing beside him to lead them both to the back room.

“Yeah? Well saddle up, V, because you’re about to meet him.”

What V was lead out to was a rather nasty looking back alley, littered with trash, broken down furniture, and what V could only assume might have been a few straggler Piranhas who had pushed themselves too far, as well as the general homeless. They weren’t sure this was really the ideal place to open a good clinic at, but then again this was the Red-light district, and it probably wasn’t much worse than anywhere else Viktor could have set up shop in the area. V couldn’t help but wonder if maybe the fact that Viktor’s clinic was back here might have been one of the reasons these haggard looking city slummers had gathered there in the first place.

“Misty I’ll be back up in just a few minutes, wanna give V a proper introduction instead of just sending them down all on their little lonesome.” Jackie said, and Misty reached up to pat Jackie’s cheek with a smile before she turned to head back inside her own shop.

“Good luck V!” She called out to them, the door closing behind her only a moment later.

There was a set of stairs that lead down to what V could only describe as an underground basement, and the sheer absurdity of such a sketchy location hosting a good doctor was a little baffling to them. They weren’t worried though, especially as Jackie slung an arm over their shoulder and lead them down into the clinic’s dim lighting. They stepped through the door at the bottom of the stairs, only to come face to face with a gate, and before it’s automatics could slide it open for them, V could see the doctor sitting across the room at a desk, tinkering away with what looked like a cybernetic arm.

The gate slid open and the two stepped in as Viktor looked up at the both of them. A warm smile crept onto his face when he saw Jackie, and he tossed the screwdriver he had been using up onto his desk before holding his hand up towards him. Jackie pulled away from V to go and grip it tight, slapping his other hand over the back of Vik’s in greeting as he all but pulled the guy out of his seat.

“Viky! Good to see you’re still alive and kicking down here,” Jackie said. “Brought you a new customer, that new partner of mine I’ve been tellin’ you about? Well they’re finally ready to take the plunge and get involved with a real ripper.”

“That so?” Viktor asked in a voice far deeper, gruffer around the edges than V ever would have expected from him. He leaned around Jackie just a little to get a good look at V, who had stayed behind a couple of steps while the two friends caught up. “I was wondering why I had a new name listed for an appointment for today. Suppose I should have guessed it was you bringing in a stray...”

V wasn’t entirely sure what they had been expecting to see when they first met Viktor, but the man before them certainly wasn’t it. He was an older man who, despite his line of work, didn’t look as though he had an ounce of chrome in him. Now that V was a bit closer, they could see that what they had initially thought was a cyberarm was actually some sort of external tool glove that Viktor was wearing rather than him actually having anything installed.

That… wasn’t to say that Viktor didn’t look like he could go toe to toe with some of Night City’s most dangerous if he needed to. The guy worked out, that much was clear as day, and V only had to take a quick half glance around the clinic to see some of the more personal areas where a couple of weights had been left laying around from whenever Viktor had last put them to use. And even while Viktor was sat down, staring up at Jackie, it was easy to tell that the man had good height to match his build.

The glasses that Viktor had on were dark lensed, and it made it hard to see his eyes behind them, but really V didn’t need to see them in order to know that his eyes were flicking between them and Jackie both. He was probably sizing V up, making judgments on whether or not he could take V in a fight before the two of them could even exchange a word. V didn’t blame him for that, but it still left them feeling just a tad bit on edge.

Before V could introduce themselves or Viktor could even ask about them, Jackie motioned with a wide sweeping arm towards V and waved them over. “V, I want you to meet Viktor Vektor. Vik, this is V, best partner in crime I have had in a long time now.” Jackie said, trailing off just a little as Viktor stood up to meet V halfway as they approached.

“Uh-hu, it’s nice to put a face to the name… first time here and you’re already a tad bit infamous in this clinic, you know that right?” Viktor asked as he extended his bare hand to shake V’s, and even if his tone seemed almost a tad bit hesitant, the nod he gave and the small smile that came with it took the edge off of his words.

“What, Jackie been shit talking me behind my back again?” V asked, giving Jackie a playful side-eye as they took Viktor’s hand and gave it a firm shake.

“Just heard a few of your more recent gigs is all, if not from Jackie then they tend to run up the grapevine through Misty.” Viktor explained, before he stepped back towards his desk after pointing across the room towards the only part of the clinic that actually looked like it was a professional medical set up rather than an underground gym locker. “Why don’t you go and park yourself over there for a minute? I’ll be right with you, just gotta finish tightening up a few loose screws before we get started.”

V shot a quick look to Jackie, who simply nodded and gave them a little nudge forward towards the operation station before he himself went to lean up against the wall near the Clinic’s front gate. The double thumbs up that he gave them was enough to get them rolling their eyes, but it did put them at ease as they made their way over to wait for Viktor.

The clinic really didn’t offer much in the way of comfort for it’s patients, not in it’s visuals anyway. As V took a seat in the chair and had a look around, the place really only gave off the vibes of a joint where you would go expecting to get some shady, illegal cyberware implanted, only to wake up a day or two later in some ice bath, if you were lucky of course. The only real lighting came from the bright surgical lights hanging over head, and a few neon signs that Viktor had laying around more as decoration than anything else. The Kiroshi display looked as though it had been jacked from right off the street somewhere, and as far as V knew, that may have very well been the case.

V continued to let their eyes wander around the clinic and just take everything in while Jackie seemed more than happy to make a bit of small talk with Viktor while he grabbed a few things off of his desk and got his shit together after his last appointment.

“You’re never gonna guess where I picked V up, Vik, really is a wild story.” Jackie said, and Viktor glanced up at him for half a second before giving an amused scoff.

“Do tell? What kind of crazy did you drag in here this time, Jackie?” Viktor asked. It wasn’t meant as an insult by any means, and V didn’t take it as such. No, the way he said it honestly sounded like someone who had seen Jackie get into his fair share of trouble, and if Viktor was anything like Jackie had described to them, then he had probably been the one to put him back into one piece nine times out of ten. “You ever gonna just meet someone casually in the street instead of landing yourself in a heap of trouble with a complete stranger?”

“Vik if you want meet-cute then this is about as good as it gets in Night City. Found ‘em trying to nab the same damn luxury car as me, couldn’t let them get in the way of a stack of eddies though, you know?” Jackie said, a fond grin on his face as he looked over towards V.

“Fucker hadn’t said two words to me before he had the business end of a gun pressed against my head.” V spoke up, leaning back in the chair just a bit as Viktor finally made his way over after kicking his rolling stool over with practiced ease. “We didn’t even have time to fight about it before the cops were stormin’ us, had us face down on the ground…. We… had something of a man on the inside though, so here we are to tell the tale?”

Viktor let out an amused huff at their rather troubling first encounter. “It’s always just that, isn’t it Jackie? Some wild, lucky break that keeps you from being flatlined and dumped off somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” He said, taking a seat beside V before pointing towards the exit. “Now go on up and let me get to work here. I’ll send V along once we’re through, shouldn’t take too long but we gotta get through all the preliminaries first and foremost. How about you tell me the whole story over a drink later this evening?”

“Yeah, I get it, I don’t really wanna sit around and watch V fill out a datapad anyway.” Jackie said, pushing off the wall and turning to make his way out. “Vik if you really want that drink then you’re on, Coyote Cojo tonight.” Jackie said, pointing at V. “V, I’ll be up in Misty’s shop, I ain’t in a hurry but come find me when you’re done. You’re in good hands alright?” He said before stepping out of the clinic.

V nodded and waved Jackie off a bit absentmindedly as Viktor handed them a decent sized datapad with what looked to be a blank medical file pulled up on it, an editable one. Their lips twitched down into a small frown as they looked it over, scrolling to the bottom of the page and then back up again while Viktor pulled up a few scanners on his own data terminal.

It took Viktor a few minutes to actually look up at V as he set things up, but after only a half glance over and seeing that V was just sitting there, staring down at the datapad in their hands with a confused look on their face, he turned towards them. It didn’t actually look like they had made any progress on it, and if they needed help with anything on it, he wanted to make sure they got it.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Viktor asked.

V didn’t say anything for a moment before shaking their head, holding the datapad up just a little higher before finally beginning to fill it out, starting by typing in their alias. “No it’s just… well, I’ve been to my fair share of rippers before. Never had one hand me paperwork to fill out though.” They said, and Viktor rolled his eyes, barely visible behind his glasses.

“I’m sure Jackie has already told you a bit about what kind of business I run here, right?” Viktor asked, turning his attention back to the screen to finish getting his system all set up. “I’ll take people in off the street when they need it, but that’s not my usual practice. Most of the time when people come in to see me, they’re regulars, and it’s nice to be able to pull up a basic medical file about whoever I have on my table, at the very least.” Viktor said. “Whether or not you ever end up back here again is up to you, but if you do…. Well, lets just say I’d hate to have you wheeled in half dead and not know if the drugs I wanna use to shoot you full of are gonna fucking kill you or not.”

“...And this isn’t gonna leave your hands after I give it back to you, right?” V asked, the first hint of hesitance sneaking into their voice that Viktor had heard, even if they cut it with a small, somewhat forced laugh afterwards. “Know some weirdo fixers and solos who would pay decent eddies for deets’ like this.”

“I just want to know if you’re allergic to penicillin, not all your deepest darkest secrets.” Viktor said, pausing his typing again to point to the datapad. “Listen, you’re asking the right questions and I like that, really, but if I was gonna sell out and hand my patient’s information off to some asshole who would use it against them, or god forbid some fucking corp, do you really think I would still be set up here in the slums of the Red-light district? Been here for years now, V, and I can promise you nothing said or discussed in here gets past that gate.”

“Ok,” V said, holding up a hand to stop Viktor, a sheepish look on their face. “Ok I got it. It’s just… been a while since I’ve been to a clinic that actually does things by the book, you know? I’m a bit more used to the no-questions-asked kinda joints.” V said, and the amused smile that spread across Viktor’s face as he reached out to finish the set up and grab a jack was enough to put them at ease, to know they hadn’t offended him.

“Oh you can rest assured that’s where the ‘by the book’ nature of this clinic ends.” Viktor said, pulling the cord of the jack until it was long enough to offer up to V. “Listen, show me a bit of trust and let me in V, and I’ll do my damned best to make sure you never regret it. Now do me a favor and jack in, we can make sure you’re systems are running clean before we really get started. You can finish up the file while the scanner does it’s job.” He said. “What all are you in here for today?”

“Just a checkup is all...” V mumbled as they reached out for the jack, examining it for half a second before reaching behind their head to slot it into their port. They felt the buzz and rush of electricity course through the port as the scanner connected and began an automatic scan, sorting through the files on their processor and all the tech connected to it. As little as that might have been, it would still take a few minutes for it to go through everything, so V sat back and let their eyes give Viktor as once over before looking back to the file, slowly filling out every section that they could. “….You take an oath?” They asked.

“Hmm?” Viktor didn’t quite look like he understood what V meant at first, so they pointed towards the pouch that was securely strapped to Viktor’s right leg.

“That’s a Trauma Team satchel there, right? Were you on a TT unit?” They asked, and Viktor glanced down at the satchel that he kept a small variety of tools slotted away in. Scalpels, smaller wrenches… he’d left the screwdriver he used to tighten the joints of his exoglove with on his desk, but there was space for that there in the pouch as well. “Don’t see a lot of corporate level doctors ending up as rippers on the street… or did you just happen to pull that off some really unlucky bastard?”

Viktor paused for a moment, seeming to think back on when the pouch had been given to him, but he ended up simply giving a little shrug. “I’ve, ah… well I’ve had a number of jobs over the years, to pay the bills between sponsored fights and whatnot. Let me tell you though, the reason you don’t see a lot of corporate doctors leaving their positions isn’t because they don’t want to. It’s because it’s not that easy to do.” He explained.

“You managed to get out though… gotta ask why you left a nice cushy job like that for?” V asked lowly.

“Something just not right about killing five people for the sake of one, just because the one had more eddies invested in Platinum, you know? That’s what your contract says you have to do if you sign onto a TT unit; if anyone stands in your way of the paying customer even the slightest bit…. Take ‘em out. Couldn’t stomach it, and I don’t really care if that makes people think I’m weak. I know where my line is, and I’m not going to cross it for some eddies.” Viktor said. He was staring down at the scanners as they worked through V’s system, but it didn’t really seem like he was actually watching them. He was lost in thought for a few brief seconds before he shook his head, sitting up a little straighter as he took in a huff of breath. “So yeah, I guess you could say I took an oath. Not the drivel they all but try to brainwash TT medics with, but...”

“I get it.” V said, and they saved the file that they had finished filling out for Viktor before passing it off to him. Viktor took it and gave it a quick skim before looking back at V when they continued. “It’s respectable. Sounds like you’ve got yourself a real good thing going here. I’m glad Jackie brought me by.”

“...Right, well, people don’t just come to me because they know me for being a good guy. Scans are just about done now, and it doesn’t seem like they’re picking up any critters. Sit up, lemmie have a look at you and lets see what we can do...”

The first thing that Viktor did was go over a few of the details on the file that he’d had V fill out for him, asking questions to clarify a few things and get a bit more history on both their basic physical, and the augmentations that they already had in place. He checked their eyes for proper dilation, their reflexes, took their blood pressure, and apologized quietly under his breath as he placed a cold stethoscope against their chest to listen to their heart and lungs. He took notes as they went, adding his own little addenda to the file so he could look back on them at later time. It was care that V almost found a little… surreal. This kind of care wasn’t unheard of, but damn was it rare down in the streets.

After Viktor finally set the datapad aside, he looked back to the scanner and quickly read over some of the data that had been pulled from it. V sat patiently waiting for some kind of doctor’s order before they heard Viktor give a small, curious hum to himself before he wheeled himself closer to the chair, motioning to V to sit up and turn to the side just a little.

“You’re runnin’ on an older system, been a good few years since you last upgraded your processor?” Viktor asked. “Tilt your head for me, please? I wanna get a look at the hardware you’ve got installed. Have you had any issues with connection errors between your augmentations and your processor? Any glitches with your optics, might come across as a sort of visual lagging?” He asked.

V tilted their head to the side just a little and reached up to make sure that no hair got in the way of Viktor’s inspection. Viktor stood up from his seat and gave a small sigh as he reached out and gently grabbed V by the chin, guiding their head just a little before he leaned in to get a good look at the serial number etched into the external rim of their port. V fought the urge to hold their breath, clearing their throat instead as they thought about Viktor’s questions. “It’s served me well enough over the years, and I haven’t noticed any issues like that. I just haven’t… well, even processors a year or so old can cost a fuckton of eddies. Getting a new one just hasn’t been enough of a priority for me.” They explained as they felt Viktor lightly feeling the area around their ports as while he listened.

“Installment doesn’t seem too shoddy… doesn’t feel loose...” Viktor said slowly, and V closed their eyes as Viktor brushed a thumb over the old, small incision scar that had been left behind when the processor was first installed. His hands were warm, rough from use, but the hold he had on them was about as soft as could be. Viktor gave another little hum as he seemed to consider something, before muttering a quiet ‘Fuck it’ under his breath as his hands slipped away from V, and he kicked off the ground to wheel himself across the room.

“Now, V, most of the time I’m with you on that if the tech serves you well and you’re happy with it, as long as you keep it well maintained there’s really no need to go out and buy every shiny new upgrade that the tech companies churn out every few months. With processors though it’s actually important to keep them fairly up to date, get a new one fitted in every couple of years or so at least. If you start buying newer augmentations and try connecting them to older processors it can cause… complications.” Viktor said, pushing himself up from his seat so he could dig through a couple of his storage boxes. “Now, I have a couple processors in backstock around here somewhere, nothing terribly fancy, but you should find that they give you a higher quality performance overall, as well as talk to any future tech you get better than what you’re currently packing.”

“Well that’s nice, but I’m kinda strapped for eddies right now. Like I said earlier, I really only came in to meet you and make sure my systems were in good working order. Jack said your prices are good but… can’t be good enough for flat ass broke.” V said, knowing damn well that everything Viktor was saying was right. They may not have had any issues with their tech being incompatible with their systems just yet, partially do to the fact that they could hardly afford to get any to begin with, but really it was just a matter of time before what little they did have would fall subject to forced obsoletion.

V watched as Viktor out of the side of their eye as he continued to dig for a few seconds before he seemed to find what he was looking for. He pulled out a small white case and popped it open to check that it wasn’t empty before snapping it closed once again. With the case in hand, he turned and kicked his chair back over, following after it as he held the processor’s case up to show off to V before he sat down with a small grunt. “Eddies or not, Kid, if you want it then it’s yours. Wouldn’t take long at all to switch it out with your old one.

V turned around to face Viktor fully when he said that, eyeing up the case for half a second before shaking their head. “Can’t take a gift like that.” They said firmly.

“Then we’ll put it on a tab for you, I don’t really care either way.” Viktor said with a shrug.

“A tab?” V asked, brow furrowing in disbelief at such an offer. “Viktor you barely fuckin’ know me and you wanna open a tab for an expensive piece of tech?” They asked.

Viktor nodded, and almost more surprising to V than the offer of a line of credit from the doctor was the utter lack of hesitance from him. “Jackie vouched for you, and if he says you’re good for it then… then you’re good for it.” Viktor said, giving a small shrug as he looked down at the case in his hand, before he held it out towards V. “Look, I’m not about to go mad doctor on you and install a new processor if you really don’t want it, but I also won’t feel very good if you walk out of here without an upgrade that you’re long overdue for just because money’s tight. Choice is yours.”

Nothing in the world was free, V had learned that the tough way years ago. The deals that always came back to bite you in the ass the hardest were always the ones where you went in thinking that the gifts you were given along the way were just that. Gifts. There was always a price though, always a small string attached that would unravel everything into a tangled mess if you didn’t watch your fucking back. There had not been one soul that V had ever met that didn’t at some point come back to make demands after doing even the smallest of favors for V free of charge.

For a split second all V could think of were bloody knuckles, busted noses, broken ribcages and being left in the gutters with their eddies wiped from their account after misunderstanding the intentions behind someone’s generosity one too many times. They swallowed thickly as they stared down at the case that had been extended to them. Every instinct in their body was telling them not to take it, to just finish with the basic check up and get the hell out of there before they got roped into a shitload of trouble taking things they couldn’t afford. When they looked up at Viktor again though, the doctor had a small smile on his face so soft and encouraging that it almost looked out of place in the fucked up world they were in. V wished they could have seen his eyes better right then, but even without them they could feel the anxiety in their chest ebb away as they remembered what Jackie had said to them earlier, his voice all but ringing out in the back of their head.

‘It ain’t about the money for him, V, you’ll see.’

Slowly, so slowly, V reached out for the case and took it from Viktor. They popped it open to get a good look at the processor safely nestled inside as Viktor clapped his hands together in a satisfied manner and wheeled himself around so that he could grab a few of his surgical tools. V leaned back in the chair, reaching a hand up to brush against the ports of their processor as they stared down at the device in their hands.

“You said yourself that you would do your best to make sure I don’t regret trusting you,” V said quietly. “And Jackie vouched for you as much as he apparently vouched for me, you know?”

“Did he now? I’m almost afraid to ask what all he said…” Viktor said, motioning for V to roll over onto their side as he stood to get a better angle, adjusting the lights above them as he did so. “All good thing I’m assuming?”

V reached out to return the new processor back to Viktor and shifted onto their side with their back facing him to give him easy access to their ports. “Made you sound like a damn joy-toy with the way he was talking about you. I almost choked when he mentioned something about you having a magic touch...” They said, and the deep laugh that Viktor let out when he heard that made V want to glance over their shoulder, to see the grin they just knew he had plastered across his face. Before they could though, Viktor placed a gentle hand on the side of their head to keep them still.

“Guess I’ll have to thank Jackie later for such a kind review, but for now I’m gonna inject a bit of anesthetic, OK? Once you’re good and numb I’ll get to work. Let me know if you feel any discomfort at all.” Viktor said between a low chuckle, and as V felt the cold press of an injector against the spot just below their processor ports the anxiety came back for half a second until the pain of needles pricking their skin melted into numbness. The quiet praise that Viktor mumbled had V closing their eyes, relaxing into the chair as much as they possibly could. “Good, just try and stick still for me, alright? I’ll make this quick so you’re not laying here long.” He said.

Honestly V could have fallen asleep there just listening to Viktor talk, if he hadn’t been about to take a scalpel to the back of their head anyway.

For a few minutes after that the only thing that V could hear in the clinic was the quiet beep of machinery, and the soft clicks of Viktor’s exoglove as he worked at carefully disconnecting and extracting the processor from V’s head. As he worked, alerts popped up on V’s rather basic optical display about the missing hardware, but V ignore it as there was nothing that could be done while on the operating table. They kept their mind off of it, and tried to focus on other things.

“So… you and Jackie… he said you two met in a ring?” V asked as the silence droned on for a little too long for their liking. They hadn’t been able to tell if Viktor just wasn’t a doctor who liked to get chatty while they were working, or if he just didn’t have much to say to them in particular, but as Viktor gave a low hum and spoke up, they figured they had their answer.

“12 rounds between the two of us. NC Devils had a few of their best fighters lined up that night, myself included. Jackie came in as an outsider just looking to get in on a few pickup fights and make some quick eddies. Rinsed through some of our best fighters before he ended up in the ring with me.” Viktor said, and V heard a small metallic clink, what they could only assume was their extracted processor being set aside.

“He said he won that fight. That true?” V asked.

“I’ve got the second place certificate to prove it...” Viktor said, and the slight hint of indignation in his voice made V laugh, and Viktor’s grip on them grew just a bit tighter to keep them steady. “And then after I could see straight again, I took him out to get a drink. Ever since then he and I have been fairly close. He gets me, I get him, it just works out.”

“Cold-cocked is a bit better than a getting gun pressed to the side of the head, I suppose. Glad to know Jackie keeps a good track record of making friends.” V snorted, staring ahead at the two little beckoning cat statues resting only a few feet away on top of some of the nearby equipment. They had seen a few on Viktor’s desk as well, and could only assume that Misty was the culprit behind them.

“At least it seems like he’s got decent taste...” Viktor said with a hum as he delicately grabbed the new processor in his exoglove. “Hey, listen, after this is all said and done I want you to feel free to come on by again, OK? Wouldn’t do anyone any good to have you flatlining in some back alley because you don’t think you can afford proper care.” Viktor said. “Seen too many people’s lights go out just because they didn’t have the eddies… I’m always willing to work something out if we need to.”

“Yeah… I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks Viktor.” V said slowly, brows knitting together as they felt the new processor click easily into place. Even with their eyes closed their optical display flashed a warning about the new hardware that had been installed, but it flickered away only a few moments later as the hardware quickly began to synchronize with the rest of their system while Viktor moved to jack V back into his computer system and make sure everything was updating and running smoothly.

“Keep still now, still gotta close you up again.” Viktor said, and V held their breath as V made quick work of closing up the small incision that he’d made behind their ear. They shivered as they felt a cool, wet cloth pass gently over the back of their neck and the freshly sealed would after that, as Viktor carefully wiped up whatever blood their was before finally V was disconnected and helped to sit up straight once again. Viktor stepped away from the operation table to go and grab something off his cart. “The anesthetic will last for a while longer, probably wear off in about half an hour after you leave, so I’m going to send you off with some stim to help the healing process and keep the pain at bay. Two whiffs now, another two in an hour. If you still feel like you need to take the edge off after that you can take an additional one, but keep an eye on it ok? If you feel anything more than mild discomfort then I want you to come right back here.”

V was tempted to reach up and touch the spot that Viktor had just operated on, but they knew that probably wasn’t the best idea they’d ever had. Besides, before they could even begin to reach up, Viktor had turned back and held out a small inhaler towards them. They took and gave it a once over before Viktor nodded down to it, so V lifted it to their lips and too two deep puffs off of it. There was no real relief right away since the back of their head was still numb, but V figured that they would be thankful for it later that evening. As they pushed up from the chair and slipped the inhaler into their pocket, Viktor snagged a fresh rag off his medical station so he could clean and the sanitize his exoglove.

“Hey, listen, Viktor….” V started, only to pause as Viktor looked up from what he was doing, slowing to give them his attention. They were sure that Viktor probably had other people he would be seeing that day for appointments, but there was something about the doctor’s nature that was more laid back than pretty much everyone else they had met in Night City. He didn’t seem to be in a rush at all to see V off, just wiping off his took while patiently waiting for V to continue. “I was pretty hesitant coming in here, I don’t know if you could tell, but Jackie was right to sing such high praise about you. If this is really the way you operate, I’ll be back again, I promise. I’ll bring eddies next time to pay you back for the processor and whatever else I might decide to get.”

“You know, sometimes hearing things like that can be payment enough. I’m no charity, so don’t expect me to waive your costs every time you come in of course, but I try to do what I can you know?” Viktor said with a little shrug. “I’m looking forward to it though, V. Will you do me a favor when you head back up and tell Jackie I still fully expect him to buy me a drink later and tell me all about how the hell you two even met, the details I mean. He’s got my number.” Viktor said.

V gave a small nod at Viktor’s request, and a they shifted from foot to foot a little nervously, stuffing their hands into their pockets. “Well, what about me, Doc? Do I get your number?” They asked. “Or does that require a few more visits?”

The amused smirk that V got the pleasure of watching spread on Viktor’s lips suited him a little too well for his own good. It wasn’t like the smug, cocky grins that V was so used to seeing on anyone who had even the slightest bit of rep to their name these days, there was something far more genuine behind it that V couldn’t quite place. It didn’t make them feel sick to their stomach just seeing it, and really that said way more than it should have.

Viktor set the wipe he had been using aside and he made his way across the room back towards his desk. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask… promise not to make me regret it?” He asked, and V watched as he leaned over to grab his holo off it to offer out to V for a scan. Quick and easy way to transfer numbers, and as soon as V saw the gesture, their face lit up with a smile and they pulled their own holo out to tap it against Viktor’s.

“I’ll do my damned best, how about that?” V asked with a laugh as the quick transfer of information completed and they saw the image and name that autofilled into their device as soon as the connection between them was made. Once they were satisfied, they tucked their holo away back into their pocket and stepped backwards towards the gate, giving a small wave as they did so. “Thanks Viktor. I’ll pass the word onto Jackie, and… and you’ll see me again real soon.” They promised.

“Good. See you later V, and take care...”

* * *

“Alright then, let me see it V,” Jackie said, making a motion for V to turn around and show off, like he would actually be able to see anything other than the small healing cut and V’s processor ports. “Viktor really spoil you and give you some free tech?”

“Not free, I’m gonna pay him back it’s just… I guess he figured I’m more likely to be able to come back and see him again if I have a better system running inside me, you know?�� V said as they tilted their head just a little so that Jackie could get a better look.

“Mm… well he’s not wrong, a souped-up you is always gonna be better than a dead you. I’m just a little surprised is all. He’s been known to make a deal or two for someone who needs it, but normally he at least waits to see if he’s even gonna see you a second time before he starts doin’ stuff like this.” Jackie said, reaching out to brush his thumb gently over the port before he dropped his hand to his side and gave a little shrug.

“Guess he just puts a lot of weight on your word then, Jackie.” V said with a snort. “I’ll try and bring you credit, I guess, but it’s not like the guy doesn’t deserve to be paid back… fuck Jack, if he’s being honest, really doesn’t care whether or not I actually pay him back for this… you’ve got a yourself a fuckin’ diamond in the rough there.” V said with an almost dreamy sigh. “… By the way Jackie, he told me to remind you that he still wants to go out for drinks later.”

“Right, like I could forget a promise to go drinking, fuckin’ been a hot second since we’ve had a bit of downtime so I think we all more than deserve to cut loose tonight,” Jackie said, before crossing his arms over his chest. “You are coming with, right? Or are you planning on skipping out as soon as we get out of here?”

“I dunno...” V sucked a hiss of breath through their teeth, considering for a moment whether or not it would be a good idea to join the two, if for no other reason than to take the night off after they and Jackie’s recent flux of work, like Jackie had said. “Kinda seems like he just wants to catch up with you, you know?”

“Ahh don’t worry about that V, if he wanted to hang out one on one with just me, he could. We see each other more often than you think though, even with all the wicked jobs we’ve been getting lately.” Jackie said. “I try and stop in to say hello whenever I pay a visit to my Pretty lady’s joint, as long as he ain’t busy anyway.”

“Jackie, I don’t think that-” V started, but Jackie quickly cut them off as he stepped closer and threw an arm around their shoulders to pull them flush against his side.

“Come on V, Ol’ Vik likes you, I can tell. What with him puttin’ in a piece of hardware like that for you on the first date?” Jackie said, and he got that stupid look on his face that he always did then he thought he knew something that V hadn’t quite caught onto just yet. That was very rarely actually the case. “Just come have a couple of drinks. We’ll tell him all about how you and I ended up face down on the ground after a carjacking gone wrong. It’ll be a good time, V, you’ll make a friend, a real friend, I promise.

V gave a small sigh as Jackie pushed and urged them to join in on the night’s outing, something still not quite setting right about trying to slot themselves in between two old friends when they didn’t know Viktor that well yet. There was something about the way that Jackie could talk something, anything really, up that could melt the heart of the toughest gangers in Night City, and it was making it hard to think of any excuses as to why they couldn’t join. Out of the corner of their eye they could see Misty had a look of utter amusement on her face, though she did hide it fairly well all things considered. All they knew is that she wouldn’t be backing them up on this anytime soon.

“Alright, fine, I’ll come out for a drink or two, but don’t expect me to stick around the whole night, OK?” V finally said, holding their hands up in defeat as they caved, and the way that Jackie’s face absolutely lit up really did make it worthwhile.

“Oh that’s what I’m talking about! I’ll set it up, alright? You just run on home to gussy up, and I’ll send you the deets as soon as Vik and I get them all squared away.” Jackie said, giving V a light shove towards the door as he leaned back against the counter Misty was stood behind. “By the time you get settled in with us tonight, you’ll be wishing the night would never end!” He promised.

“I’m holding you to that!” V said, pointing sharply at Jackie and giving the firmest face they could muster, but it quickly broke as they laughed and waved him off. “I’ll be ready, just keep me up to date. Misty, it was good to see you, don’t let Jackie keep you distracted here alright?” They said as they started towards the door, not seeing the light playful shove that Misty gave Jackie in response. Jackie mumbled something in a playful tone to her that V didn’t quite catch as they stepped out into the loud and busy streets of the Night City Red-light district…

* * *

“There, I see his car, Vik’s already here.” Jackie said, pointing towards a small, dark blue vehicle parked right by the front door. “Probably inside already chattin’ someone up.” He said, and V squinted at the car that Jackie had pointed at before turning to pull in beside it.

“Why the hell does Viktor drive a fucking tiny ass clown car looking thing?” V mumbled as they parked and killed the engine.

“The MaiMai? Can’t blame him for liking to keep it simple, not everyone needs the biggest baddest ride on the street, especially if you don’t actually get out as much.” Jackie said with a shrug, getting out and looking over the top of the car towards the driver’s side, with V doing the same to look back at him. “Why? You really got a problem with it?”

“Just hard to imagine a guy as big as him driving around in a tiny ass car like that.” V said. “Also, like I said before, looks like a fuckin’ clown car.”

“Oh Vik loves it. Trust me, nothing’s better than seeing some poor road-raging asshole’s face go pale when they come to try and pick a fight, only to have Vik step out instead of whatever small spindly fuck they were expecting. He towers over them almost every time.” Jackie said. “Seen it happen first hand, kills me every time.”

Just imagining the scene that Jackie had described was enough to make V laugh. They locked the car up and stepped around towards the entrance of El Coyote Cojo, stopping only to playfully jab Jackie in the center of his chest. “Have a hard time imagining you sitting in a fuckin’ MaiMai too. The two of you crammed in a little two-seater like that? Fuckin’ laughable is what that is.” They said, only to be proven right as Jackie cracked up as he thought back to it, and really it had been just as absurd as V assumed.

Jackie shoved V’s hand away before reaching out to sling an arm around their shoulder, hauling them right up against his side as they stepped in. “Come on, burnin’ daylight here V. We gotta get settled in before the crowds start showing up and we can barely hear ourselves talk.” Jackie said, though really he was hardly complaining. He and V had spent a few good night at the Coyote living it up the best way they knew how, and often left stumbling into the streets with their heads and hearts still pounding to the beat of the music that would blast through the bar during the later hours.

There was a moment of adjustment needed as they stepped in from outside into the neon glow of reds and greens that made up a good portion of the decorative lighting in the joint. Beyond the workers, there were a few early patrons who had already made their way there and settled in at some of their favorite spots for a bite to eat and a good time with friends, but the bar was almost entirely unoccupied yet thankfully. Save for one lone body, anyway. Viktor was sat towards the center, making casual conversation with Pepe as he waited for his friends to arrive. With his back to V and Jackie, he didn’t notice as they approached until Jackie slipped away from V to move to one side of Viktor, while V moved towards his other side and the two caught his attention by sitting down on the stools next to him.

“Been here long Vik?” Jackie asked, and Viktor gave a quick shake of his head, reaching out to pat Jackie on the shoulder to welcome him, and when he looked over to V he saw that Pepe had already stepped over to take their drink order to get them started for the evening. He was a little surprised that V had actually come along with them, but when Jackie first mentioned the fact that they would be there, he hadn’t been disappointed.

“Nah... my last appointment ran a bit long so I just got here maybe ten minutes ago? Customer was about as indecisive as they come and took forever to decide what they wanted. Like I don’t tell my customers to at least have an idea what they fuckin’ want before they come in…. They ended up going for a damn set of rippers of all things.” Viktor said with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, fatigue clear as day in his voice. “They always assume that just because it’s not a big installation that it will be an easy installation.”

“Rippers? Fuck man, that shit’s old-school, nasty work right?” Jackie asked, far from being a medic but he still knew how rough certain procedures were through word of mouth, and from listening to Viktor bitch about them enough times. Anything involving finger work tended to leave Viktor agitated. “Sorry to hear your day kinda went downstairs after we left. Installation at least go alright?”

“Ahh, it ain’t really worth griping over. I’m here now, ready for a drink. Definitely done thinking about cybernetics for the evening.” Viktor said, clapping his hands together to clear the air between them so they could get things started. Pepe had just handed V’s drink off to them, and he looked between Viktor and Jackie to see what they would be having. “Drinks are on you tonight, right Jack?” Viktor asked.

“Said I was buying, didn’t I?” Jackie said, nodding to Pepe. “Open a tab for me tonight? I’ll pay it off before we head out. Figure we’ll be here a good while though. Gotta catch Viky here up on what V and I have been getting up to, and he’s gonna need somethin’ strong to get him through this one.”

Jackie and Viktor both placed their drink orders and Pepe made quick work of getting them prepped and poured out, and Jackie picked his up as soon as it was ready before turning towards the other two. “Alright how’s about a fuckin’ toast first though, yeah? We’ve all got a lot of good going for us as of late, feels like tonight is the night to celebrate it all.” He said, watching as the other two followed suit in grabbing their drinks to raise up, V leaning forward against the bar just to look around Viktor so they could see.

“I mean, sure, that sounds good Jack,” V said. “What exactly are we toasting to though?”

Jackie thought for half a second before thrusting his drink forward just a bit, sloshing it slightly but none of them cared about the small spill it caused. “Let’s keep it simple; to friends. Old, new, ones we’ll meet in the future.” He said, and to that both V and Viktor held their drinks higher, with V reaching as far as they possibly could to clink their glasses together. It was sloppy, messy, so perfect for the three of them.

“To friendship.” Both V and Viktor said, and the three of them took a generous drink from their glasses before settling back down, V flopping back in their stool so hard it almost rocked a little.

Viktor took a second slow drink from his glass just to really appreciate it a little more, before he looked between Jackie and V both, and he motioned for them to get on with it. He had been promised quite the story several times by Jackie at this point and he expected the man to deliver. “Alright… so let’s hear it,” He said. “What’s the story behind you two?”

“Jackie set his own drink down and shifted in his seat so that he was fully facing Viktor with an excited gleam in his eyes as he began to set the scene. “OK, so I’m out there just doin’ a job for Wakako cause she’s got intel on a high-end, absolutely preem vehicle and she wants me to nab it for her. Apparently she had some client lined up wanting to buy it off her, she just didn’t have it in her possession yet, you know what I mean?” Jackie said, before flicking his wrist towards V, who couldn’t have hid the smirk on their face if they had wanted to. “And I’m all set to grab it right? I get there though and this fucker is sittin’ in the car already, trying to fuckin’ high-jack it with some garbage tech that’s supposed to be a kind of damn skeleton key for super cars I guess?”

V quickly waved their hands, shook their head, and Viktor turned his attention towards them as they began to explain their side of the story. “Listen, you can’t fucking hot-wire a car like that, it was just supposed to get the damn thing up and running for me, I was gonna do the rest.” They said, sighing. “I was trying to help Pepe out with Slimy Kirk ‘cause he was in the hole with him for some money. Kirk said I could do a job for him and Pepe would be squared away, and the job was to grab the car. ‘Course it went belly up like every fucking job from him does...” They said, pinching at the bridge of their nose as they spoke. They were about to carry on with the story, but there was something about the expression on Viktor’s face that gave them pause.

He looked… upset. A little confused, maybe shocked, but mostly just upset as his brow furrowed and he shook his head and turned his gaze down to the table. It was such an abrupt shift from happy and relaxed to this that it was almost jarring to V.

“Wait… wait you mean to tell me that Kirk’s still around? Nobody’s gone and flatlined that little rat yet?” Viktor asked, the disgruntled look on his face only partially obscured by the drink in his hand.

“What can I say? It’s on my to-do list, but bigger things keep pushing him further and further down as priority.” V said with a shrug. “Why? You got beef?”

“Well… hardly these days, doesn’t even matter anymore now that I’ve set up shop behind Misty’s, but the fucker took me for about a grand a few years back while I was still looking for a good place to run my clinic from.” Viktor mumbled, and beside them Jackie nodded with a low whistle as he waved a finger at Viktor.

“Yeeeah, yeah I remember that, god never seen you so pissed Vik. Had every right to be though, I’m still surprised you didn’t knock Kirk into next year...” Jackie said, letting out a low chuckle and shaking his head at the memory of it. “Bastard went into hiding for a bit before you could even get your hands on him or something, right?”

Viktor let out little more than an annoyed grunt in affirmation as he tipped his glass back against his lips and took a long pull from it. When he set it aside the ice clanked loudly against the side of the glass and he raised his hand to motion to Pepe for another. “Something like that...”

V looked between Jackie and Viktor for a moment, but clearly they were missing a bit of history here that neither of them seemed to be in too much of a rush to explain to them, so they cleared their throat and gave Viktor a little nudge with their foot to get his attention. “Hey, I mean he’s back in broad daylight again. If you wanted to send a couple of goons his way to get back at him for you...” V pounded their fist into the palm of their hand a few times for show. “I think Jackie and I could make a bit of time for it.”

Viktor shook his head, waving that idea right off without so much as considering it. “No, not necessary. Like I said, it was years ago and I’m happy with where I’m at right now. Besides, going after fixers doesn’t really do you any favors, even if it’s someone like Kirk… great way to get yourself blacklisted if you’re not careful. Lost eddies ain’t worth it.”

“Yeah… you axe one, all the others tend to get a little twitchy when they hear about it...” V mumbled, slouching in their chair just a little. It was clear to Vik that they were disappointed that they couldn’t help, but he wasn’t going to change his mind on that.

“I swear sometimes they know you’re gonna do somethin’ to piss them off before you even do it, don’t know how though.” Jackie said.

“Well…. Suppose if you ever change your mind, Vik, offer will still be there.” V said.

It was clear that all the talk of Kirk had left a bit of a bad taste in Viktor’s mouth, but he smiled all the same as V assured the offer for support would still be there if he ever changed his mind down the line. “Thanks V, I appreciate it, really. Not a lot of people in this city who would have your back just like that no questions asked.” He said, before muttering a quiet thank you to Pepe as his refill was set in front of him. He held the glass up in a much smaller cheers before taking a sip. “...Anyway, so Kirk sends you out on a job and you just happen to run into Jackie, who just so happens to be looking for the same damn car for Wakako?”

“Should have seen her, Vik, not just any car. Aerondight, ‘bout the sexiest set of wheels I’ve ever seen...” Jackie said, and V couldn’t help but snort at the almost wistful look on his face as he thought back to the car that got away. “PD were on our asses in fuckin’ seconds though, and I’m pretty sure the only reason we walked away from that one alive was because of Stints...”

“Couldn’t let us off without a proper beatdown though, better than ending up at the bottom of a fucking river at least...” V muttered, reaching up and rubbing idly at their nose that hadn’t quite looked like it was supposed to since that last little run in with the cops.

“Ok so… so let me get this straight,” Viktor started, setting his drink down before he leaned back in his seat and he motioned between Jackie and V both. “Somewhere between Jackie putting a gun to your head and getting your shit kicked in by PD, you decided that you two were gonna be best buds from now on?” He asked.

“Well, no, actually I still kinda wanted to kick his ass for a while after all that, but then he went and introduced me to Mama Welles and…. Well she asked me to stay for dinner, what can I say?” V said with a shrug, a sheepish grin spreading on their lips as they spoke. “Can’t say no to her, and can’t hurt her baby boy.”

“Awe, come on V, don’t gotta go breaking my heart by telling me you’re friends with Mama and not me.” Jackie said, and Viktor ducked his head at that, hiding the grin behind his hand. He couldn’t hide the way his shoulders bounced with poorly concealed snickering though, and when Jackie lightly kicked Viktor in the shin for laughing at him, Viktor reached out and gave a small shove right back in return. They really did seem like a couple of best friends, rather than a doctor and his patient.

“Learn to make chili like your mom, then I’ll think about upping you on my list of friends, Jack.” V said.

“Oof nasty words V!” Jackie said, giving the most heartbroken sounding gasp he could muster, hand placed over his heart. “Vik, you’re closer, punch them for me.”

Viktor gave V a bit of a side-eyed glance and a thoughtful hum as he circled the rim of his glass with his thumb. Then he shook his head with the barest hint of a smirk on his face. “Come on now Jackie, I don’t think they deserve to die for that...” He said, ignoring the way that V’s head whipped around and the indignant expression they had plastered to their face. The moment V opened their mouth to spit out some sort of a rebuttal Viktor shot them a look, just daring them to argue against him. “Hmm? Got something to say, Kid?”

There were a few beets between the two that seemed to carry on for an eternity, just Viktor staring V down while V looked like the cogs in their brain were frantically trying to churn out an answer to that challenge they had just been issued, at least in their mind. Finally V sat up a little straighter as the looked Viktor up and down before shrugging. “I don’t know Vik… I’ve been in some pretty decent scraps myself….. I think I could take you.” They said, tone laced with nothing but pure defiance.

Jackie erupted into laughter, while Viktor’s expression seemed caught somewhere between complete awe, and utter befuddlement. He almost seemed like he was waiting for V to take back what they were saying, to realize that if Viktor wanted to, he could have dropped them in an instant with a well placed blow, but they just cross their arms over their chest and looked proud of what they had said. That stunned look on Viktor’s face melted into one of admiration for the gutsy little street punk in front of him.

“Oh… I like this one Jackie.” Viktor said, leaning against the bar just a little as he spoke, and he seemed to be trying to decide whether or not he should make them prove themself or not. Given the fact that there was alcohol involved here, he figured maybe that wasn’t the best idea for them, or potentially anyone else in the bar for that matter. “They’ve got a pair.”

“Ehh, they really do have a wicked arm on them too, for someone who’s untrained anyway. They’re bullshitting hard right now, they know damn well they couldn’t take on a pro like you, but… I’ve seen them throw some nasty punched all the same.” Jackie said with a shrug, and just from his praise alone V felt bolstered, and the look on their face was damn near blinding with pride. The compliments certainly did nothing to quell their ego, and they couldn’t help but puff out their chest just a little. “I think you’d actually be impressed if you saw it, Vik.”

Viktor hadn’t looked away from V since he first began to realize just how daring this little streetpunk actually was, and V was beginning to feel like the man’s eyes were about to burn a damn hole in their skin with how intently he was watching them. The lights from behind the bar had them all cast in a deep green glow, and it hit Viktor just right to let V see his eyes hidden behind the dark lenses of his glasses. They had been locked on their own at first, but it was impossible for V to miss the way they flicked down as he glanced them over.

V wasn’t the toughest, biggest bastard in Night City, not by a long-shot. Their augmentations were a rather pitiful minimum, and with next to no bio-enhancemnts to even begin to compare to some of the cybered up tech heads you could find in the slums, the only person there who was less kitted up was Viktor himself who, as far as V could tell, was tech free. With a painful lack of eddies to their name, all they could really do to even begin to stack against the dangers the city held was to stay in shape, grit their teeth, and give it all they could. They had long since learned that even if you didn’t have the shiniest new implants installed, you had damn well better be willing to walk into a dangerous situation with the confidence of someone who did, or you would get chewed up and spit out in a heartbeat.

But… Viktor wasn’t looking for tech. They could all but feel Viktor’s eyes roaming over them now that their jacket wasn’t in the way like it had been at the clinic. His gaze lingered on their arms, their shoulders and chest, the subtle definition of the muscles hidden under the thin fabric of their T-shirt. V pulled their glass up to take a slow drink from it, the burn of the alcohol distracting them from the nerves the felt itching at the edge of their mind.

“Well, Vik, are you impressed? Like what you see?” They asked lowly, and as soon as they spoke Viktor looked back up at their face.

“Yeah… I mean you look like you’re in pretty good shape, from a glance at least.” Viktor said, clearing his throat as he reached for his glass, quickly bringing it to his lips to take what was really the smallest sip he could. “Next time you come in I’d like to take the time and put you through the wringer, do a full physical and see what we can do to improve on that…” He said, looking down to his glass, and finally V felt like they could breath again. “Not that I really wanna talk business right now, came out to spend time with friends and that’s what I plan on doing.”

“Fair enough, V said, before tapping the back of their hand against Viktor’s shoulder. “Hey, I know Jackie said drinks were on him tonight, but let me get your next one. My way of saying thanks for the work earlier.” They suggested with a lopsided grin on their face, all too charming in their own way.

“I like the way you say thanks, Kid.” Viktor said with a small laugh, not caring if it was a little silly since he wasn’t going to be buying his own drinks either way, but he supposed that it really was the thought that counted. "Last one though, I still gotta work tomorrow so I’m not looking to get drunk tonight.”

“That would be a tall fuckin’ order anyway, getting Viktor drunk. Guy’s got the tolerance of a champ.” Jackie said, before he leaned around Viktor to look at V, and he jabbed a thumb towards the front door of the bar. “V, buy the man his drink and then do me a favor after that, will you? Think my holo slipped out in your car, and you got the key. Fetch it for me?” He asked.

“Yeah, I got you Jack. I gotta step out anyway, I’m expecting deets on a job any minutes really.” V said before waving Pepe down and tapping the spot in front of Viktor. “Another of what he’s having, I’ll send you the eddies in just a second Pepe, I just gotta step out real quick and I’ll be right back. You can keep Jackie as collateral ‘till then.” They said, giving Jackie a playful wink as they passed by, fishing their key out of their pocket before they even reached the door.

Jackie watched them go, leaning back on his stool until he almost looked like he was about ready to topple over backwards until V disappeared from his sight. As soon as they were gone, he leaned forward again and turned towards Vik to smack him on the shoulder a couple of times. It didn’t hurt so much as it just surprised Viktor, making him flinch just a little.

“Viiiik, Viky, come on what was that now?!” Jackie demanded, attempting to smack at Viktor’s arm a few more times before the old ripper pushed his hand away and reached for his freshly refilled glass now that he wasn’t being hit.

“What are you going on about now? Not short circuiting over there, are you?” Viktor asked.

“Damn near thought I was, seeing what I just saw. Was that the one and only Viktor Vektor flirting?” Jackie asked, and the shit eating grin he had on his face made Viktor give a roll of his eyes and shake his head.

“I don’t flirt, Jack, not anymore. Too old for that kinda thing, you know?” Viktor said, waving Jackie off. “V seems… they seem real nice. I don’t know them that well at all of course, but what little I’ve talked to them they at least seem like they’ve got their head on straight, and if you’ve taken a liking to them, then they probably have a good heart buried in there somewhere too I’m guessing...” He said, pausing for a moment in hopes that would be enough to placate Jackie, but that goofy, almost accusatory grin didn’t seem to falter from his face. “Fuckin’ get over it Jackie, you’re seeing things that aren’t even there.”

“What about that fancy new rig you set up in their head earlier? Processors don’t come cheap, even older ones.” Jackie pointed out. “They mentioned that they wanted to pay you back for it… bet you didn’t even ask them to though, did you?”

“I’d just rather make sure I actually get to see them for a second appointment than worry about eddies.” Viktor said. “Wasn’t even the newest model, doubt I would have had anyone coming in looking for it, and I really doubt I’ll miss it.”

“...Well, you sure as hell won them over with that smooth move, I can tell.” Jackie said, the smile finally fading from his lips just a bit as he glanced over his shoulder towards the door. He could see V through one of the cracked front windows, kicking the door to their car shut while looking down at their own holo, responding to some texts by the look of it. They were still looking down at the device when they started back towards the bar entrance.

“Mm...” Viktor glanced over when the door chimed with V’s re-entrance. “Like I said, forget it.”

As soon as V made their way over, they stood between the both of them and sat Jackie’s holo down in front of him, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Hey, listen, hate to bounce already but I just got word from one of my fixers about a sweet gig. Should be easy work for a decent chunk of change. Figure it would probably still be best if I can see straight going into it though.” They said, looking to Jackie. “I warned you that I would probably be dipping earlier than the two of you anyway.” They said. They just narrowly missed the little frown that Viktor had on his face upon hearing that V was heading out, probably to get into some sort of trouble elsewhere. Jackie didn’t

“Fine, fine, you’re free to go. Dunno what you’re up to, but try not to catch a bullet, alright? I kinda need you for this next job, alright?” Jackie said with a little snicker, grunting at the hard swat V gave him on the back. “Hey play nice now! S’what you get for saying you’re better friends with my Mama than you are with me. Now scram, V, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, of course, we’ll rock it out OK Jackie? I’ll give you a call first thing in the morning.” V said, letting their hands slip away from the two, before pointing at Viktor as they began to walk backwards towards the door. “Soon as we finish this I’m comin’ to give you what you’re owed, Vik, and maybe we can talk shop about getting a few more fancy toys installed?”

Viktor lifted his head just a little when V spoke to him, and he nodded. “Sure thing, V, just call ahead and I’ll be sure to make some time for you as soon as you’re ready.” He promised, giving a little wave before he finished off his glass that had been ordered for him, setting it aside to be cleaned up while he and Jackie caught up.

V turned on heel and headed out after that, with Jackie watching them until they got in their car and drove away, headed off for what he could only hope wasn’t too dangerous of a mission if they were going to tackle it themselves. As soon as V was gone though, Jackie looked back over to Viktor.

“You’ll make some time for them, Vik? Squeeze ‘em in?” Jackie asked, elbowing Viktor lightly, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

“Shut it, Jackie, before I wire your jaw shut myself.”

#Cyberpunk 2077 #Viktor Vektor #Victor Vektor #Victor Vector #viktor vector #My Writing #Reupload

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nereol · 4 years ago

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Cyberpunk 2077 Prompt Event (10/30)

As usual you can read this on AO3.

Daily Prompt: April 10 - sitch - Only one bed

Technical Prompt: 8. Reversed madlibs: four adjectives: perpendicular, radiant, discombobulated, preposterous; three nouns: cat, spaghetti, momento; two verbs: thrust, capitulate; one adverb: petulantly

2K+ words RipperMerc fluff and pining

It's the first time, after Jackie's ofrenda, that they wanted to meet as a group. Well, that already doesn't work out as planned, because Misty canceled. 'At least Vince will be there, too... it's not like I'm alone with her...' Viktor leaves the elevator. He had never been at Val's apartment before. They had met mostly at El Coyote Cojo, sometimes just in the back of his clinic, at different diners....

He knocks on her door, the bag of food in his other hand. He can hear music playing quietly. "¡Espera un momento!" Val's muffled voice from the other side. Viktor can't help but grin. He leans one shoulder against the doorframe and waits. The door opens, Val stands in front of him with a grin. She has no makeup on, looks different to her usual dark purple lipstick. With one hand she pulls down her tank top as if she had just put it on. Her grin is - as always - catching and Viktor smiles down at her. "V, I don't speak Spanish." "Me neither." She chuckles and shrugs. "I understand much more than I speak."

Viktor holds up the bag with the take away. "Spaghetti?" Val's eyes grow wide and with a small joyful squeak, she takes Viktor's other hand in both of her smaller ones and pulls him into her apartment. Viktor laughs. "Hungry, huh?" Val lets go of him and pushes the button to close the door. "Pasta is always good!" She says firmly.

"Misty sends her apologies." Viktor looks around her apartment. "She has a migraine." "Oh, poor thing, I'll write to her right away." Val walks to the couch and picks up her agent from the coffee table. As she leans over, her purple braids, which she has not tied into a bun as she does when she works, fall forward over her shoulders. "Why are ya still standin' around?" She looks up at Viktor. "Get comfy."

Viktor flinches for a second, then walks over to the couch, puts down the food bag, and sits down. Val frowns as she goes through her messages. "Everything okay?" Viktor knows her well enough to see that something is bothering her. She shakes her head slightly. "Vince gets here later, he's still at a gig." She puts the agent back on the table and walks around the couch to the storage room. So they are alone after all. At least for now... "Beer?" Val's voice snaps Viktor out of his thoughts. "Eh, sure." Viktor nods, although she cannot see him.

A meow makes Viktor look towards her bed - something he had actually been trying to avoid. The naked cat jumps off the bed, remains sitting in front of it and looks at him suspiciously, while the tip of its tail twitches petulantly. Val puts the beer on the table. "Just ignore him, he doesn't like strangers." She sits down opposite Viktor and grabs a box with food out of the bag. "So, if Vince is late - more pasta for me." She grins. As she leans forward, Viktor can't help it, his gaze falls on her cleavage. She wears, as always, no bra and her pierced nipples outline through the top.

Viktor has seen Val only in panties already after the Delamain cab dropped her and Takemura off, when Misty helped him take off her suit, he cleaned and bandaged her wounds. But he had been so focused then that he hadn't paid attention to her body - not in that way. She leans back on the couch and opens her takeout box, clearly happy. Viktor reaches for a beer. "You okay?" Val asks with her mouth full. She slurps up a couple of spaghetti that was hanging out of her mouth. "You're so quiet." She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

Viktor takes a sip to buy himself some time. Then he puts the bottle down. "Sure," he says without looking at her and takes a takeout box as well. "Long, busy day." "Hmm..." Val humms, as if she was thinking. As she swallows the next bite of pasta, she reaches for her beer. Viktor's gaze is on her mouth as she takes a few sips. Her pout mouth. He glances down at his food so she doesn't catch him staring at her.

"I've been thinking, now that I've finally paid off my debt ..." She threads some spaghetti on her fork. "Next, I need Mantis Blades." A low chuckle from Viktor. "You need?" He looks at her with raised eyebrows. Val nods eagerly as she puts the fork into her mouth. After she has swallowed, she continues. "And a better cyberdeck. Somethin' with lots of ram and slots." Viktor nods as while chewing. "I'll get you one," he says, after swallowing.

"Nova." Val puts another way-too-large bite into her mouth and looks around as if she's thinking. After swallowing, she points at Viktor with her fork. "Bet you know what else I need." "Hmm..." Viktor hums his mouth full, eyes her. "Matching the new cyberdeck some RAM update, Memory Boost..." Val nods her head while chewing. "Detoxifier... or maybe at least a basic Cataresist until you can afford better."

Val swallows. "I also want some tendons or ankles." She lifts her bare feet and wiggles her toes. Viktor laughs and shakes his head. "V, I'm eatin'." But he doesn't really sound bothered - it's hard for him to be annoyed by Val. She pouts and lowers her legs again. "They are clean - I just showered." She looks at him with big puppy eyes. Viktor sighs, pushing aside the pictures of Val in the shower. "Anyway - that'd be pretty expensive."

Val finished before him, puts the empty box on the table. "Don't tell me you're going to eat more." Viktor asks with amusement, eyebrows raised, fork halfway to his mouth, as Val looks down at the bag which still contains Vince's serving. "Hmm..." She takes her beer and leans back. "Maybe later." She grins at Viktor and takes a sip. Then she reaches for her agent again. Viktor watches her while he eats the last bites of spaghetti. "I texted Vince that if he isn't here soon, I'll eat his pasta." She grins widely as she leans forward to place the agent back on the coffee table.

"You've got..." Viktor points at her mouth. "Sauce?" Val asks, and he nods. "Wanna lick it off?" She winks at him with a smirk and Viktor chokes on his food, but Val is already reaching over to grab a napkin. As she looks up again and sees his expression, she laughs out loud. "Oh, come on, Vik. You're way to easy to tease." "You can't do this to an old man, V." He takes a sip of his beer and shakes his head, avoiding her gaze. "Your not that old, Vik." Val giggles and Viktor puts down his empty takeout box.

"Did ya bring the movie?" That was one reason for the meeting. Val and Vince wanted to see Viktor boxing. Viktor takes a shard out of his pocket. "Don't wanna wait for Vince?" Val looks at her agent - no new messages. "When he comes, we can watch it again." She takes the last sip of beer and stands up. "Turn it on." She gestures to the TV behind Viktor and then goes into the storage room to get two new bottles of beer.

Viktor slots in the shard and stands up to go around the coffee table and sit on the other side so he can see the TV. Val sits down next to him. He had not hesitated when Vince had asked if there were records from Viktor's active days. But watching them now, alone with Val, in her apartment, made him feel a little uncomfortable. Viktor says nothing, sipping his beer from time to time and watching Val out of the corner of his eye, who is watching the TV.

"I have to admit, you were pretty hot, Vik." She looks over at him with a cheeky grin. "Yeah, well..." He shrugs. "It's been a while." He takes a sip. Val giggles, and Viktor looks over at her. "What's so funny?" She looks back at the TV. "You underestimate yourself, Vik." He does not know what to say in response. Does she mean... No, she can't mean that. "Oh, that's a cool move!" She suddenly says enthusiastically and points to the TV. Viktor, torn from his thoughts, looks at the screen. "What?"

Val rewinds. "This." Viktor chuckles low, her enthusiasm is adorable. "Show me!" She looks over at Viktor, who looks at her in disbelief. "What?" Val pauses the movie. "Show me!" Val says again and jumps up. She takes his hand, which is not holding a beer bottle and pulls on it. Well, if he didn't want to, she wouldn't have a chance to move him even an inch. "Come on." She looks at him with big green puppy eyes again. Viktor sighs and stands up. "Yes!" Val rejoices like a child at her triumph.

Viktor explains, showing her the positions. Val looks concentrated and tries to follow his instructions exactly. They stand opposite each other in the middle of her apartment. Nibbles lies on the desk chair and watches with annoyance. "Okay, hands up like this." Val mirrows his position. "...okay and now your feet perpendicular to your shins and..." Viktor points to Val's feet. "Wait, what?" She looks down with a puzzled expression on her face. "You can't explain that even more complicated, can you?" Viktor chuckles. He has to admit that she looks cute, totally confused.

"Hey, you're makin' fun of me." Val looks up at him and Viktor shakes his head, chuckling. "Yes, you are!" She walks up to him and punches him playfully in the chest. Val's agent on the coffee table beeps and she turns away from Viktor to check the message. Viktor sighs with relief and sits down on the couch again. "It's Vince..." Val sits down next to him, closer than before. Probably unintentionally, because she didn't even look where he was sitting, her eyes still on the message. "He's still on his gig." She sighs and puts the agent aside. "He'll not come anymore - it's getting too late."

Viktor frowns a little. He had hoped that Vince would come over. Now it was clear that he would spend the rest of the evening alone with Val. This almost feels like a date now - even though he knew she'd never call it that, even if it was a date. They finish watching the shard, Val asks a few questions now and then, but most of the time it's quiet. She sits so close to him, he can feel her radiant body heat.

When the recording is over, both have emptied their second beer. Val reaches for the empty bottles on the table. "Another one?" "Sure." Viktor nods and stands up to put his shard back in his pocket before sitting down again. She thrust a drink into his hand and sits down beside him. "So, what to watch now?" "Whatever you want." Viktor says and opens his beer.

"We could watch my old movies." She winks at him with a naughty grin. Viktor almost chokes on his beer. "Your..." he coughs and Val laughs. "Your BDs?" He looks at her in disbelief. Val shakes her head, giggling. "Why not?" Viktor notices how he blushes slightly and Val notices it too. "Oh, Vik - it's not porn." He avoids her eyes. "Still... I... no..." he stuttered. Val pats his shoulder with a giggle. "Okay, okay. Calm down." She turns on the TV and browses through the channels.

They stick with some action movie. Val has been leaning against his shoulder since a few minutes now, her legs pulled up on the couch. Viktor doesn't pay much attention to the movie. He is busy convincing himself that it doesn't matter that she is cuddling up to him. Val is a very flirty and handsy person. She used to cuddle with Jackie as well. She hasn't said anything for some time and her breathing is calm and steady. "Don't fall asleep on me, kid." He can't help but grin. "Vik..." She actually sounds a little sleepy. "If ya don't stop callin' me kid, I'll start callin' you daddy."

Viktor only swallows. His mind's going places and his thoughts straight to his dick. He can feel himself blushing. When he says nothing, Val looks up at him. He clenches his jaw and avoids her gaze, looking at the screen. "Oh, you're blushing." She giggles. "Guess you'd like that, huh?" He still looks straight ahead stubbornly. "Leave it alone, V." She giggles and kisses him on the cheek. "You're adorable, Vik." She leans against him again.

His cheek feels as if it has caught fire where her lips have just touched it. "Just teasing a lil'. You know that." She shifts a little to make herself more comfortable. Viktor puts his arm around her. "Yeah, I know..." He knows it very well. She enjoys teasing him, testing his reactions. But that's it. As if a pretty young woman like her would want anything from him. Anything more than just a friend or a shoulder to lean on. She could have anyone - and she has anyone she wants, Viktor knows that very well.

When the movie ends, Val yawns heavily as she sits up. "I should leave and let you get some sleep." Viktor says and stands up. "Hmm..." Val looks up at him with tired eyes. "It's late, you don't have to drive all the way home." Val looks at the empty beer bottles on the coffee table. "And you drank." "Oh, I didn't drink that much." Viktor also looks at the bottles to avoid her gaze. "Vik, come on." She stands up and looks at him with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, okay." Viktor looks around. "I'll take the couch." Val sighs as she turns off the TV. "That's preposterous. First - you are way too big for the couch. Second - we are adults, we can share a bed." Viktor sighs and nods, still without looking at her. He capitulates - he knows arguing with Val is useless. Adults... Yes, he always says that he's an old man. But sharing a bed with this woman. He feels more like a fucking teenager. Viktor swallows hard while taking off his shoes.

---

Okay, the "only one bed" situation isn't an actual part of this, cause it's already 2k+ words. I tried to fit in all the words for the tech prompt and then I came up with more and more details. So I hope this is still fine for the prompt.

Val grew up in Heywood with lots of 'Tinos and speaks broken Spanish. I'd guess she uses several phrases and wordings in Spain, kinda like I and my family uses particular in Danish. Val was with the Mox and a dancer at Lizzie's before she left NC for Atlanta. Many people asume her old BDs are XBDs but they are in fact lap dances, striptease and other stuff - sexy but not sex.

I like the scene, I like some of the dialogues and I like how giddy Val is in the first part. I'm not totally happy with the writing, but it's to long to rewrite it. So for now, for the event this has to be good enough. I'll rewrite it and continue (have a draft already) at some point after the event.

#moxwrites2077 #oc: val griffin #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #viktor vector #rippermerc #prompt fill #prompt fic #fic

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stormfall1327 · 4 years ago

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My half of an art for fic trade with the amazing @newvegasorbust! I hope I did your V as much justice as you did mine! By the way, the plot was completely their idea. I only put it into words. <3 Thank you so much for this trade! Your ideas got me out of a writing rut and your art is incredible! If you haven’t seen the art, check out thier blog or my previous post! You can also find the fic here on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29916810

‘Til the End

Fluff, Angst, Smut, Fem!V/Vik, Nomad V

The sun is beginning to set as V makes her way down the steps to Vik’s clinic. It’s a Thursday night like any other, a meeting of friends to watch old boxing re-runs over a beer (or three). They started this tradition a few months ago after V showed more than a passing interest during one of Vik’s stories about the good ‘ol days. In truth, she couldn’t care less about boxing, but she’d take any excuse to spend more time with the ripperdoc, regardless of what they were doing.

Sliding open the metal gates, she gives Vik a wave and a warm smile and heads back to the worn leather couch to settle in for tonight’s match, letting him finish whatever it is he’s working on. A few minutes later, he rounds the corner and plops down on the couch next to her with a sigh, handing over one of the beers he was carrying.

“Long day?,” V asks as she gratefully accepts the beer and takes a long pull.

“Eh, wasn’t so bad. Just gettin’ tired of these idiot gonks messing with tech they don’t understand and then bringing it to me to fix. Oh, well. Part of the job, I guess. Day’s better now, at any rate,” he says with a small smile, holding up his bottle to her. Her face flushes pink, wide eyes hidden behind her turquoise shades as she raises her own bottle to clink against his.

“So,” she says a little too loudly, “which match are we watching tonight?”

He stands to bring the screen around and set up the program. “Thought we’d hit something a little more recent tonight. Malone vs Hernandez.” Settling back in beside her as the recording starts, he nudges her shoulder and gestures at the screen with his beer. “Pay close attention, now…”

———

The match is full-swing, Vik sitting on the edge of the cushion, yelling at the screen when V feels her holo buzz. She glances down to see a familiar Aldecaldo logo appear.

Panam’s grainy image flickers to life on the screen. “V! It is good that you answered. I need your help. Again.”

V can’t help but laugh. “Of course, Panam! You know I wouldn’t turn down the chance to go on another crazy adventure with you. So, what grand scheme have you cooked up this time?,” she asks, taking another swig of beer.

Panam chuckles warmly. “No, nothing like that this time. I, well, the clan actually, has need of you and your ripper doctor. The one you always gush about.”

V’s face turns bright red and she whips her head around to look at Vik, eternally grateful that he’s still seemingly engrossed in the fight.

“I do not gush,” she hisses, turning her head back to glare at Panam through the screen.

“He is there with you now, yes?”

“Mhmm. Watchin’ boxing re-runs. Kind of a weekly tradition.”

“But you hate—” Panam’s voice is reduced to muffled nonsense as V covers the holo with her hand and quickly stands, smoothing her down her skirt. “Grabbin’ another beer. Getcha one?,” she asks, not quite pulling Vik’s attention away from the screen. He waves a hand at her. “Nah, I’m good, thanks. But hurry back, now. Don’t wanna miss the knock-out.”

“Back in a flash,” she says, making her way over to the mini-fridge across the room.

Once safely out of earshot, she removes her hand from the holo. “Hey! What the hell was that about?,” Panam calls out. V gives her a look over the top of her glasses. “You’re lucky I like you, Panam Palmer. Now what was it that you needed help with?”

“Oh, right! See, our clan’s ripper, Dusty, is being roped into performing surgery on a goddamn Raffen and his life is on the line, V. He’s out of his depth and well, I was hoping that you and Viktor would come out to the camp to help him out.”

“Shit, why didn’t you say so? ‘Course we’ll come. Vik’s the best ripper in NC. He’ll definitely be able to help. When is Dusty suppose to do this surgery?”

“Thank you, V! I knew I could count on you. He’s starting soon. You’ll need to head here right away. I’ll meet you at the edge of camp.” She gives V a nod and closes the link.

Heading back to couch, V stops when she see Vik staring at her, one eyebrow raised. “So, what was that about?”

“That? Oh, just talking to a friend of mine. Say, how would you like to take a nice ride out to the Badlands?”

Vik’s eyebrow just arches higher.

“So, look… I may have told a clan of Nomads about you and I may have also volunteered you to help perform a surgery at their camp. Tonight,” she adds, giving him a sheepish grin and running a hand through her hair.

He huffs out a laugh and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I see. And I’m guessin’ I got no say in the matter?” Not that it would make a difference, he thinks. She has no idea how much she’s wrapped herself around his finger. He’d do damn near anything for her; he couldn’t tell her no.

“You always have a say, Vik. I just figured you’d jump at an opportunity like this. And besides, it’ll be nice to get out of the City for a change.”

“Fine, fine. When are we leaving?”

“As soon as you can pack a bag.”

———

It’s nearing nightfall, the desert wind still hot as it blows in through the open windows of V’s Thorton as they make their way to the Aldecaldo camp. Buckled into the passenger seat, much to his initial annoyance, Vik can’t help but marvel at her driving skills. She’s clearly in her element out here, tearing through the desert like it’s an open stretch of highway rather than a bumpy landscape of sand dunes and cacti. Daring a glance over at her, he sucks in a breath at the sight; wind-blown hair skittering across the tops of her shoulders, the low evening light casting her in an almost ethereal glow. She’s smiling again, fingers tapping out the beat of the song on the radio and damn it, if he doesn’t think she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Out here, away from the crushing oppression of the City, she’s vibrant and free and herself and in that moment, he’s smitten. But given everything she’s told him about her past, about her clan and the ultimate betrayal she endured at the hands of someone so close to her, he promised himself he’d keep things professional, for her sake. She needed someone she could trust and if resigning himself to being her ripper and her friend meant securing that trust, then he’d happily keep his feelings to himself.

He’s shaken from his thoughts as they come to a skidding halt at the edge of the Aldecaldo camp. V is out of the car and grabbing his bag before he even has time to unbuckle his seatbelt. Stepping out, he’s met by V and two others, rounding the hood of the car.

The man grabs his hand in a firm shake and lets out a whistle. “Well, hot damn. Didn’t think she’d actually manage to drag you all the way out here. Pleasure to meetcha. Name’s Mitch. This here’s Panam.” He motions behind him and the woman steps forward to shake his hand, as well. “You must be the famous ripperdoc we’ve heard about. V talks about you all the time. It is nice to meet you, Viktor,” she says with a warm smile. Vik laughs, the tips of his ears burning, and he rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Heh, I dunno about famous, but please, it’s, uh, just Vik.”

“Well, Vik, please follow me. You got here just in time.”

Panam leads the way through the camp, V falling in step with Vik as they make their way to Dusty’s makeshift clinic. Climbing the steps, she places a hand on his shoulder to get his attention and mouths a silent, “Thank you,” offering him a small smile as she hands over his bag which he returns with a nod and a smile of his own. Panam introduces the pair and Vik immediately sets to work, his naturally calm demeanor working wonders on Dusty’s nerves as they discuss the details of the surgery and begin to prep for the Raffen’s arrival.

Panam loops her arm through V’s and clears her throat to get the mens’ attention. “Well, it seems like everything is under control here. We will leave you to it. Good luck!,” she calls, dragging V down the stairs with her.

“Hey! Where are we goin’? What if they need help?”

“You did say that Viktor is the best ripper in Night City, yes? They will be fine, V. Let us go sit by the fire while they work.”

Still holding onto V’s arm, she nudges her toward a log in front of the now sizable campfire and takes a seat beside her.

“So… You do plan to spend some time out here with Viktor tonight, yes?,” she asks, nudging V’s shoulder with her own.

The sounds of Saul arriving with the Raffen echo through the camp.

“I, uh, hadn’t really thought about it,” V says, eyes darting to the ripper’s tent as the man of the hour is hauled onto the operating chair. That was a lie and they both knew it.

“I see. Well, should you decide to give it some thought, there’s a little spot north of here with a great view of the stars. Your man could probably use some… relaxation after this.” Panam waggles her eyebrows and laughs, ducking out of the way of V’s arm as she playfully throws a punch in her direction. She knows exactly the place.

“He’s not my man, Panam. He’s just a friend. A damn good one, at that.” Her words are confident, bolstered by her own laugh, but when she looks over to the tent and sees him, completely in his element and patiently guiding Dusty through the procedure, she falters, her laugh fading away on the soft desert breeze.

“You keep telling yourself that, V,” Panam says as she stands and stretches. “Listen, I have some things I need to take care of around camp. By the looks of things, they should be finished soon. Think about what I said, yeah?” Giving V’s shoulder a squeeze, she heads off into the night.

“Christ, V, if you don’t say somethin’ to him, I will. These mushy puppy-dog eyes make me wanna puke. Hell, even Panam sees it and she’s more oblivious to that shit than you are.” Right on cue, Johnny materializes beside her and lights up a cigarette.

Of all the times… “Can it, Johnny.”

“I’m being serious, V. We both know you’re runnin’ short on time. You just gotta decide if you’re gonna grow some balls and actually do something about it before that clock runs out.”

Her retort died on her tongue. He was right, of course.

“So help me, Johnny, if you show up in the middle of-”

“Easy, killer. I’ll leave you two alone. Scout’s honor.” He lifts his arm in mock salute and winks, blinking out of sight as Vik walks over to stand in front of the fire.

V stands to join him, running a hand through her hair as she tries to keep her cool.

“That was faster than I expected. Everything went well, I take it?”

“Eh, he’ll be fine. Dusty’s a good kid. He doesn’t give himself enough credit; just needed a little coaching, is all. Barely had to get my hands dirty,” he says with a warm smile.

“I’m glad to hear it. I know they’re grateful for your help. And so am I. You didn’t have to come all the way out here to help a group of strangers in the middle of the night.”

“You honestly think I’d turn y- uh, this down?” Her heart skips a beat. “I haven’t been out of the city in years. Plus, the view is incredible,” he says, glancing up at the sky. V seizes the opportunity.

“If you think the view is great here, you should see it from the cliffs. They’re not far, if you want to go. That is, I just figured since we’re out here already-”

“I’d love to.”

She lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and grins. “Great! You’re gonna love it.”

———

Ten minutes later, V drives the Thorton up over the last rise of the cliff and slows to a stop, heart thundering in her chest. She hopes he doesn’t notice the tremor in her hands as she turns off the ignition and jumps down onto the red rock below. She meets Vik at the front of the car and leads him up a small incline along the rock face, stopping when she reaches a familiar outcropping of stone. “We’re here,” she whispers.

Leaning back against the rocks, still warm from the sun, Vik lets out a low whistle. “Can’t remember the last time I saw stars like this. It’s a damn shame, really.”

“Probably what I miss the most,” she muses, pocketing her turquoise shades and staring up into the sky.

“Would you ever go back? To living as a Nomad, I mean. The Aldecaldos seem fond of you.”

“Nah. As much as I sometimes hate this city for all the ways it’s fucked me over…” Her hand drifts subconsciously to her neck, fingers idly tracing over the chip slot behind her ear. “There’s too much I’d be givin�� up if I just left. Too many people I’d be leavin’ behind.” He nods in understanding but doesn’t respond.

The silence stretches between them for what feels like an eternity.

“Konpeki.”

“Huh?”

She huffs out a breath. “Konpeki Plaza. The… heist for the Relic. That was the last time I saw Jackie alive and all we did was fight. God, I was so mad at him, actin’ like we were going on a damn picnic instead of stickin’ our necks out for that low-life DeShawn. Then after we got blasted, I yelled at him, Vik. He was bleedin’ out and I fuckin’ yelled at him, blaming him for Bug’s death and for getting us in that mess in the first place. It was wrong and it was awful, but I was so angry. And then he died, right next to me, and there was nothing I could do. He died before I could apologize or even say goodbye. Before he knew how much he meant to me.” She reaches up with a shaky hand and wipes a tear from her face.

Vik lets out a breath and takes off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. “V… I still have nightmares about those ‘Sake bastards breaking to my fucking clinic and taking Jack’s body right out from under me. I shoulda stopped them. I shoulda fought back. But I was pinned to the floor with a gun to my head and I… I was a coward, V. I let ‘em take him and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish things had turned out differently. That I was stronger. That I’d done more.”

She reaches out to him then and closes her trembling fingers around his own, heart clenching when she feels his hand tighten against her grip.

“It’s not your fault,” she says softly as another tear rolls down her cheek.

“After I died and you told me about the chip, I promised myself that I wouldn’t get close to anyone else without all the cards being on the table. I wanted everything to be up front with no room for guessing or regrets. Panam and Judy are some of the best friends I’ve ever had because of that. But there’s still one person I’ve been holding back from.”

She glances up and meets Vik’s gaze and steadies herself with a breath before turning to face him and reaching for his other hand.

“Vik, I… I just need to you know that I care about you, a lot. I know my time is short, but whatever happens with the Relic, I want you to be part of my life. I’m so damn scared of losing you and I-”

Vik reaches a hand up to cup her cheek and her words catch in her throat.

“V, when I saw, firsthand, the lengths Arasaka would go to recover their “assets”… part of my nightmares were them stealing you, too. Taking you away from me. I’m already powerless to stop whatever’s goin’ on inside your head and that kills me every damn day. I don’t want to lose you.”

She pulls her hand away from his and runs her thumb over his cheekbone.

“Then don’t,” she whispers.

Before V even realizes what’s happening, Vik’s hands are tangled in her hair and his lips are crushed against hers, months of pent up emotion flooding into every movement of his lips and tongue, nearly overwhelming her. She meets him with equal fervor, hands roaming over his chest, kneading the taut muscles with her fingers and enjoying the rumbling groan that she can feel more than hear. She works the buttons of his over-shirt free and pushes it off of his shoulders, moaning into his mouth as she runs her hands over his bare arms, muscles flexing under her touch.

Vik returns the favor, divesting V of her jacket as he breaks the kiss to lick and nip his way down the column of her throat. A shiver races down her spine and she tugs the hem of his tank from his pants, sliding her hands under the fabric to feel his skin. She rolls his nipples between her fingers and he bucks against her, erection straining against the front of his pants and a fresh wave of arousal pools between her legs.

Bracing her hands against his shoulders, she pushes him back, just enough to pull his shirt over his head, before pulling him back into another heated kiss. He’s surprising adept with her corset, undoing it in a matter of moments. Her nipples barely have a moment to react to the cool night air before he pulls one into his mouth, assaulting it with tongue and teeth while the other is pinched and pulled by his skilled fingers. The sensation is too much and V leans against the cliff for support, the rough face of the rock a heady contrast to the slick feel of Vik’s tongue on her breast.

He drops to his knees to place hot, open-mouthed kisses down her belly, hands skimming down her sides to toy with the top of her skirt. He looks up at her then, eyes seeking permission, and all she can do is nod. With a smirk, he pulls her skirt and panties down her legs, nostrils flaring as he catches the scent of her arousal. He braces his left hand on her stomach and slides the tip of his finger back and forth along her soaking cunt, leaning back on his heels to see her. Her head is thrown back, bottom lip caught in her teeth, and a thin sheen of sweat coats her skin. Her heaving chest accentuates her tattoo, the snake wrapped around her breast almost seeming alive as it moves with her breathing.

He pulls his finger away and V whimpers above him.

“Patience,” he grumbles before pressing a kiss to the inside of her thigh.

In one smooth motion, Vik slides his finger into her and wraps his tongue around her clit. V arches off the rock, a harsh moan tearing from her throat as every nerve in her body catches fire. She bucks her hips forward, desperate for more. He adds a second finger, pushing deeper into her heat and hooking his fingers, catapulting V closer to the edge. A few more strokes of his tongue and she’s flying, orgasm soaring through her body as she shakes against the cliff face, Vik’s hand on her stomach the only thing keeping her grounded. He coaxes her through her high before slowly withdrawing his fingers.

“Christ, you’re gorgeous when you cum,” he mutters against her skin.

“Let me return the favor,” she says, running her fingers through his hair. He stands with a grunt and she leans up to kiss him, moaning as he tastes herself on his tongue. She reaches down to undo his pants, palming his dick with an appreciative sigh before sliding them down his hips. He moans as his aching cock springs free and watches as she rearranges their discarded clothes, forming a makeshift blanket on the ground. She sweeps her arm out, gesturing at the pile with a grin. “After you.”

He walks over, lowering himself to the ground and splaying out on his back. V climbs over him, rubbing her wet folds across the length of his dick and drawing a deep groan from his throat. She reaches down, giving him a few languid pumps before lining him up with her entrance.

“I don’t want to lose you, Viktor,” she says, voice shaking as she stares into his eyes.

“Then don’t,” he echoes, grabbing her hips and pushing her down on his length. They moan in unison, finally feeling completed, finally feeling whole. V sets a wicked pace, riding Vik into the sandstone as their sounds of pleasure echo across the Badlands.

The stuttering in his hips tells V he’s close. She’s close, too, that familiar flame lapping at her spine. His head has fallen to the side, but she grabs his chin and forces him to look at her.

“I want you to see stars,” she breathes, angling his head up to the sky. She bears down, her walls clamping hard around him and within a few strokes, he’s shouting at the stars as wave after wave of pleasure shoots through his body. She’s not far behind, crying out in relief as her orgasm crests, riding out her release on his twitching cock.

As their breathing slows, V rolls off of him and snuggles into his side, sighing contentedly when his arm wraps around her waist. They lie there silently for a time, watching the stars sparkle overhead.

“You know I’m here for you, right? Even if I can’t stop the Relic, I’ll always be here to help you, any way I can.”

“I’m here for you, too. ’Til the end.”

He pulls her close and presses a kiss to her forehead. “’Til the end.”

#art for fic trade #my writing #v/vik #viktor vektor #Viktor Vector #Victor Vector #nomad v

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sazafraz · 4 years ago

Text

Solace

Requested by: @solari-writes-things

Fandom: Cyberpunk 2077

Pairing: Viktor Vector x OC: Talia Song

Prompt: From Dialogues with Emotional Connotation; “Pain is not an easy thing to ignore/There are an endless number of things I wish to forget.”

Warning: Possible Spoilers

Requests: OPEN

HERE WE GOOOOOO, ALL ABOARD THE PAIN TRAIN CHOO-CHOO!

Victor chuckled as he sat in front of his old friend. Ripperdocs usually had a large network where each one knew the other. It was beneficial, when one needed help or materials, it only made sense to help each other if they needed it and were reliable enough. Not to mention, Talia Song was a complete legend.

One of the most famous ripperdocs, she was aggressive in her work. She single-handedly fought against Arasaka to steal their cyberware. High quality gear led to anyone and everyone wanting her to upgrade their chrome, sometimes at a high price, sometimes at a lower price for less fortunate individuals. Her power, skill, and charity for deserving people led to the name Xuanwu becoming a Night City staple.

“You never cease to put a smile on my face, Talia.” Viktor smirked and relaxed in his seat. The room was dim, but he could see her face clear as day, smiling back at him.

“I’d be real worried if I couldn’t Vik.” Talia chuckled. They had met a long while ago, when V had needed both their services for a job they were going to embark on. One thing led to another, and Viktor got to see firsthand how Talia happily bashed into Maelstrom heads with her efficacious hammer. There was something to her fervor that didn’t exist in Viktor, that interested him.

She was fiery, determined, headstrong, and rather powerful. She was also very gladly open to her attraction in the older, more easygoing man. Don’t get him wrong, Viktor has a very piquant side to him, but it was usually reserved to those who sent emails saying he was dead. Sure he was, that’s why his cabinets were filled with countless Undisputed Champion trophies. Try him, motherfuckers.

That first encounter led to more relaxed hangouts, where Viktor got to know the person behind the frenzy. Avenging a wronged father, caring for a sweet (and lazy as all fuck) viper, and healing from a scarring cyberpsycho encounter helped him connect with her on a more intimate level. It was often they’d sit on her couch, eat shitty takeout and watch old flicks while they exposed the more reinforced aspects of their being.

Today wasn’t much different. He held a sad smile on his visage, listening to her recount to her latest escapade. She had stolen back supplies from a nearby vendor who was begging his neighbors for help. “Talia Song, a charitable contributor of Night City.” Viktor chuckled.

“Hey man, I know you do nice favors for the needy. Guess we can start a volunteer service.” She snickered and leaned back in her seat. “Nah...I do it cuz I want to. After all these years, people suffering just makes my blood boil. Innocent people, too.”

Viktor nodded and twiddled with his thumbs, taking her features in. They were ones he loved feeling under his calloused hands. “Well...pain’s not an easy thing to ignore. Hurts, seeing so many people fucked over by the city. Not like any of the rest of the country is better...” he shook his head, scratching the back of his head. He subconsciously mused over his bald spot.

He let out a shaky breath, and gulped, putting his hand back down. “Sorry it’s uh...just been a while since we talked, yknow?” He watched her lean forward to extend her hand, but he adjusted herself, clearing his throat. She watched her slowly sit back to where she was.

“Yeah, it has been. What’s up with that?” She chuckled a bit, to try and lighten the mood.

“I’ve been real busy.” He nodded. V comin’ in and out, Misty needing my help, lots of patients...yknow, just a big surge.” He offered a smile, noting how she gently fiddled with her hands.

They were the softest hands imaginable. Her entire body was soft. He thought back on how he loved placing gentle kisses on the crook of her neck, right below her ear, on her navel, and more...as he slid down to give her the most pleasure he could. Then, when he’d be buried deep within, all he could think about is how to be closer. Closer to her body, her mind, her soul. Everything about her melded perfectly against him, and every time he’d think back to it, he’d lose himself in the memories. It almost brought him momentary peace.

“Yeah, it kinda feels like you’re not telling me everything. Look at you, you’re like a sitting brick, all stressed. What’s going on?” Talia sounded more concerned now. Her voice was gentler, her eyes understanding with worry.

Viktor took a moment to look at her face again. It took everything in his power to fight back tears. “So...much has happened, Talia. A whole bunch of hurt...there’s an endless number of things I wish I could forget from the past few weeks. One in...one in particular.” He nodded.

Talia leaned forward. She was incredibly fond of Viktor. loved him, even. The way he would hold her, kiss her, love her. His eyes were always soft and gentle, his actions tender and considerate. If she had to choose anyone in Night City to spend the rest of her life with, it would be Viktor. To hear him on the verge of breaking down hurt her. “Like...like what?”

Taking a deep breath, Viktor took off his glasses and looked straight at her, his eyes watering. “We lost someone...I lost someone...important.” He nodded slowly. “And, I’ve lost a ton of people in my day but...I don’t know if I can get through this particular loss.” He cleared his throat, trying not to let his voice break. He saw a message from V pop up in his reticle.

“Holy shit Vik...who?” Talia was no stranger to loss. Her mother, her father, countless friends...nearly even lost Jackie and V. “Viktor, who fucking died?” She watched him get up.

We gotta go, the message read. On my way, was Viktor’s reply. He sniffed and quickly placed his glasses back on. “I’ll see you around, Talia.”

“Vik, hold on...Vik!” She got up herself and tried going for him, but the moment she reached the glass window separating the two, she phased back. “Vik?” He turned around with his kind, but saddened smile. “Love you Talia.” As he walked out, he listened to her questioning voice fade away. Only when he got in V’s car, slamming the door shut, did he let out a shaky breath. He stared at his shuddering hands, droplets of tears on them. While V pulled away, Viktor took one last look at the large building, black and tall in its mourning.

Never again would Viktor visit Mikoshi.

Tag list: @angelaiswriting @jackjawcaptain @tsumethedrifter @kind-wolf

If you’d like to be tagged, please send a polite dm or ask

#cyberpunk #cyberpunk 2077 #my writing #Viktor Vector #Viktor Vektor

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silverhandy · 4 years ago

Text

Verbatim

read on ao3!

Summary: Having climbed all the way up from Heywood’s slums to Miyabi, one of the most high end casinos in Night City, Santiago "Sanny" Garcia thought himself a lucky man, right until the point when his employer, an Arasaka board member with a gambling business on the side, caught him stealing and offered an impossible ultimatum. Forced to pay off his debt or die trying, Sanny has to renew some old friendships and form some new ones to keep himself afloat.

On top of everything, when his cyberware starts malfunctioning, there’s only one person on his long contact list that he can call.

“Where’s your Trauma platinum when you need it, pendejo?”

“Kicking a man when he’s down? Never expected that from you” Sanny groaned, burying his face in a pillow. He’d give anything for the world to stop spinning, just for a second. Faced with a heavy silence, he cracked one eye open to see Maria’s disgruntled expression on the holo. “It got revoked, okay? I’m literally begging here.”

“You're not,” she replied, the frown still not leaving her face. Sanny could swear at least some part of her was enjoying it. “At least not yet.”

“C’mon, hermana. I’m-” before he could finish that sentence, he was cut off by another wave of nausea strong arming its way through him. He barely had the chance to haul himself over the edge of the bed to vomit into the bucket he put there, anything to avoid ruining his ridiculously expensive, silk sheets.

Sanny could practically feel Maria’s judging stare on him as she got a front row seat on her brother puking his brains out. He understood her, in a way - their last conversation wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. Maybe he went a little overboard with his bragging. Still, she was his only sibling that still kept in touch with him, all the rest a step away from declaring him a total stranger.

As he wiped his mouth, desperate to get rid of the bitter taste of bile, he entertained the thought of apologizing to her. Was that his new low? At the mercy of his older sister? Certainly not a position he thought he’d find himself in, not after he decided to say goodbye to Heywood for good. She had every right to resent him just as the rest of the family did, but despite it all, they still kept in contact. A sporadic, passive aggressive contact, but a contact nevertheless.

She let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. You’re lucky my day freed up, otherwise you’d have to call some other sorry fucker. Text me the address, I’ll be there in an hour, maybe two.”

“Two hours? You for real?”

“Don’t push your luck, Santiago.”

***

“That ripperdoc of yours, how reliable is he?”

“He knows his stuff. Just bear in mind he doesn’t usually take on corpos.”

“Not a corpo.” Sanny mumbled, resting his forehead on the cold glass of the passenger's window.

“You sure as hell look like one” she replied, not taking her eyes off the road.

“When in Rome, do as Romans do…”

The car hit a bump, making Sanny smack his head against the glass. An explosion of pain followed as an array of angrily white stars danced in front of his vision, sprinkled with not less alarming system failure warnings. If he didn’t know better, he’d say Maria did that on purpose, but she wasn’t responsible for the state of the neighborhood's roads. Not directly, at least.

“We’re here.” Maria’s voice snapped him out of his stupor. Some time must’ve passed because when he opened his eyes they were parked on the edge of a wide, busy street, various shops, and nightclubs drawing customers in with their loud neons and whatever else they had to offer. Luckily for Sanny, they didn’t have to walk all the way through it, loud sounds and aggressively bright lights coming at him from all directions, mercilessly aggravating his headache before they turned the corner and walked through the gate leading to a small, crumpled backyard. Maria led him down another set of stairs to an unlabeled basement, one of those places you needed to know were there to find them.

“Hey Vik!'' she said as she passed the gate to the underground clinic, walking in as if she owned the place. Sanny followed behind, his usual confidence shrinking. If what Maria said was true, there was a real chance that the ripperdoc would turn him away and he doubted he had the resolve to drag himself to another one. Suddenly Fukuzawa’s offer of a bullet to the head seemed much more appealing.

When the ripperdoc turned his head towards them, a warm smile appeared on his face as his eyes landed on Maria. Tossing the screwdriver he’d been holding aside, he got up to greet her, though Sanny could tell he was eyeing him over her shoulder as well. He couldn’t blame him - he probably looked like a breathing trainwreck.

“Hey, good to see you.” the ripper said to Maria. “So you must be Sanny?” he asked, suddenly shifting his attention to the younger man, extending a muscular arm towards him. The ripper was built like a fucking truck and Mal could feel his mouth go dry, and only partially because he must be severely dehydrated at this point. Suddenly regretting that he didn’t at least take a shower before Maria came to pick him up, he took a step forward to shake the man’s hand.

“That’s me.” Sanny smiled nervously, his paled face twitching with the effort.

“Viktor Vector’s the name. Heard a lot about you.”

“Oh yeah?” Sanny could hear his voice cracking, mind racing at all the things Maria could possibly say about him while in her ripper’s chair. There were many and only a few made Sanny proud of himself.

“I’ll leave you boys to chat. Don’t want no part in this.” Maria said, a crooked smile on her face. “I’ll wait in the car. Vik, feel free to add this to my tab.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

And just like that, she left him there. Great.

“Alright, let’s get you seated, don’t want you to crack your head open if you fall.” Sanny heard Viktor say. Too busy trying to keep down the few sips of water he got before leaving the apartment, he didn’t even notice how his silhouette started to sway to the side, only stopped by the ripperdoc’s strong arm on his shoulder, steadying him and gently ushering him in the direction of the chair.

Looking back, the whole thing couldn’t have happened to him at a worse time, shortly after he got dropped from the Trauma Team health plan, his regular ripper bidding him farewell with an apologetic smile, even taking a step further to wish him luck. So much for the Hippocratic oath. Sanny watched silently as Viktor kicked himself a chair and sat down to fire up the monitors, typing away at the beat up keyboard until eventually, he reached out a hand.

“Your personal link, please.”

“‘f course” Sunny mumbled, handing him the cable and watching as the doc jacked it into the port, on the first try even. Must be the practice, Sanny thought and allowed his head to rest on the headboard, the blue leather cracking slightly as Viktor started running diagnostics on his cyberware.

“That’s an impressive set you got there”

If he wasn’t feeling so damn miserable, he'd smirk. Impressive was an understatement, with his array of the state of the art cyberware, from behavioral boosters to those refining his fine motor skills to a point he was practically a magician with a deck of cards. Or a lockpick, but he was yet to get desperate enough to give that career path a try.

“My job has its perks.”

“You a croupier at Miyabi?” it seemed that Viktor was rather keen on small talk, a quality that Sanny didn’t quite share, but hesitantly welcomed.

“Figured it out from my tech or did my sister tell you?”

“Bit of both, I suppose.”

Jacked and insightful. What more could Sanny possibly want? Then again, it wasn’t a time in his life for romantic pursuits, both this specific moment, lying sick on the ripperdoc’s chair and in a broader sense, when he had a figurative gun to his head, a literal one soon to follow if he doesn’t resolve the mess he got himself into.

“Other than dizziness, anything else bothering you?

“Uh,” Sanny turned his head to look at the other man. There were many things bothering him and most had little to do with his current physical condition. “I haven't been able to keep anything down for a few days now. Not even the damn pills for the headache. Running self diagnostics didn’t spit out anything useful either.”

Viktor’s brows furrowed as he shot the younger man a glance from behind his shades. Disapproval? Concern?

“It’s been this bad and you’re only now seeing a ripper?”

“Maria told you where I work but didn’t share why I’m visiting a back alley doctor? How considerate.”

“You guys don’t get along too well, huh?” Sanny frowned at the direction this conversation was going, but there was nothing he could do but enjoy the ride.

“It’s...an on and off thing between us.” he just mumbled, desperate to avoid Viktor’s gaze. Lucky for Sanny, the ripper’s attention seemed to be entirely on the monitors in front of him.

“Just remember, kid,” Viktor said, finally turning to look at Sanny’s face. “she cares about you a lot. Wouldn’t bring you here if she didn’t.”

Sanny just hummed in response. Deep down, he knew the ripper was right, but the whole exchange only made him even more curious about what exactly Maria had been saying about him. It couldn’t be half as bad as he thought he deserved because not only had Viktor not kicked him out of the chair, but was even nice to him. Go figure.

“Alright then,” Viktor said, unplugging the younger man’s personal link. “had to do some cleaning in your CPU, you should be up and running in a few hours. Take this before going to bed for the night,” a strip of pills was placed in his hand “and in the future, watch what you plug your personal link into. I know you guys working in high end casinos get a fancy firewall as part of the package, but it’s not foolproof.

“It sure ain’t, doc. Thanks for the advice,” Sanny smiled, motioning to get up from the chair. “and everything else.”

Whatever Viktor did, the effect was immediate; the clinic was no longer swaying and his stomach didn’t threaten to twist itself inside out every time he moved his head. He still felt like he was experiencing a crescendo of the worst hangover of his life, but it was nothing that couldn’t be managed with a shower and a fresh change of clothes. Who knows, he might even get bold and eat something, though he still wasn’t sure about that one.

“Don’t mention it, I don’t often get the chance to tinker with Miyabi tech. And if you’re open to some more pieces of advice, you should be thanking your sister, not me.”

“I’ll make sure to do just that.”

“Should you run into more trouble with software, my clinic’s always open. I’ll send you the number, so don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

Did he just…? No fucking way, Sanny thought as he walked up the stairs, leaving the clinic behind.

***

“So...how’re the Valentinos treatin’ you?”

“Actually, I…puta madre!” she shouted, blasting her hand against the car’s horn as she slammed the brakes to make her disdain loud and clear to the driver who tried to cut her off at the intersection. A litany of insults from the would-be culprit followed, another sound in a cacophony of Heywood’s streets. Maria shook her head, dark locks of her hair shaking with the movement like a swarm of angry bees. “I left.”

“And here I was thinking the position of the family’s black sheep was already taken.”

“Don’t ever think you’re the special one just because you shuffle cards for the big guys.”

“Oh, I could never. So what do you do now?”

“Independent. It took a while, but a friend got me hooked up with some reliable fixers.”

“A “friend”? Don’t tell me that on top of everything, you got yourself a man. Or a woman?”

Maria shot him a warning glare. “It’s nothing like that. Jackie just helped me get back on my feet, introduced me to some people. I’ve been fending for myself since then.”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

“Way better than for you. The hell did you do to piss off your corporate overlords?”

“All I can say for now is that you can leave Heywood, but Heywood never leaves you. Took one too many risks and all it did was land me before the one and only Akio Fukuzawa, who apparently doesn’t take kindly to humbled employees when his eddies are missing.”

“And yet here you are, still alive.”

“What can I say? I’m a charming guy.”

They spent the rest of the car ride in silence, Maria’s eyes fixed on the road, maroon painted nails tapping on the steering wheel in the rhythm of whatever was playing on the radio while Sanny pretended to be mesmerized by whatever they were passing on their way, in reality pulling up his comms interface to scroll through all the text messages he sent to fixers before the damn virus made it impossible to see straight. Almost all of them were left on read and unanswered. Sanny presumed they were bound to remain so. He didn’t have the reputation necessary to land any of the bigger contracts and no time to build it up before Fukuzawa’s minions showed up on his doorstep.

They parked in front of his building, mere centimeters away from bumping into a lampost. Sanny choked down a sigh. There was no escaping it now.

“Thanks, hermana. I owe you one,” he uttered, motioning to get out of the car. Just as he pushed the door open, his comms chimed with a text message from an unknown number. Getting out of the car, he waved to dismiss it, thinking it must be another of those spam chains that’d been flooding his inbox from time to time, but froze halfway through when his eyes landed on the text. The contract was vague on details, but the reward was crystal clear. Sanny could almost feel his jaw dropping as he looked at the impressive number of zeros that followed the first digit. It should be enough. More than enough to pay Fukuzawa off, even if, as per the fixer’s demand, he’ll have to cut the amount in half and share with a partner. He was so dumbfounded he didn’t hear Maria’s reply, or if she replied at all, but when he turned back one last time, she was eying him from head to toe suspiciously. Then she just shook her head slightly as if shushing away a thought.

“And Sanny?” she said, rolling down her window and shooting him a glare from behind her shades. “don’t you dare fuck my ripperdoc.”

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk #cp2077 #cp77 #cyberpunk oc #Viktor Vector #cyberpunk fic #my writing #moxwrites2077

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shinycorvidae · 4 years ago

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Head Cannon Dump Part 4 of 6

The two Vs, NV/Vic/V Part 1: Physicality and Personality

-NV is Vic, my V, a nomad

-Hiro or SKV, her roommate, then friend, then lover, Street kid background (vaguely), hes @smilepal s

Basic/Physical:

She's 28, at game start

Half Cuban, half white and has lived in a desert for most of her life so she has warm brown tanned skin. Warm yellow/brown eyes which can look piercingly through you or soft and understanding depending on her mood.

Her hair is a blue color with a tinge of green. It was supposed to be a forest green but her sister grabbed the wrong bottle of perma-dye when they broke into the local ripperdoc's clinic to dye their hair.

Her lips are also permanently colored. She likens it to war paint but she doesn't want the hassle of applying it/worrying about it rubbing off.

Ex-nomad, sleeps like the dead anywhere because she's used to having people around to watch her back

Her bones crack like fucking glow sticks.

-Johnny: how are your bones in worse condition than mine were?? I was in my 30s?

-Vic *just finger guns*

Vic sleeps like an idiot, all contorted and sideways

-Hiro tries to push her back into a normal situation so she doesn’t wake up with her back hurting more than usual.

Has a snake tattoo snaking around her chest for Viper, got it with funds from the first mission with Jackie. She also has a devils head and Chippin' In lyrics on her back from her teen years.

V really didnt want to admit to Johnny that she was a samurai fan so she goes out of her way to not look at her back while hes in her head. "Who? Is that some bushido reenactment shit?"

This goes well until Johnny has control of her body and goes to the bathroom to check on her ribs, thinking he broke them.

-J: "I know, Vic."

-Nv: "What?"

-J: I know about your secret."

-Nv: "Ehehe secret? Wha-"

-J: "I SAW YOUR BACK V"

-Nv: "oh fu-"

-J: "BUSHIDO REENACTMENT MY ASS."

Pansexual.

She has a pair of mantis blades, which are basically a safety blanket for her, weapons that can't ever be taken away so she's never helpless. So when she's nervous/feeling helpless she runs her fingers over the seam of them.

They’re her weapon of last resort though so if you find her at home cleaning the blood off them, you know a mission went fucking sideways

They were her dad, Michael's, which he got from the army so they're military issue high end suckers. Also around 50 years old lmao.

They make Vik weep because finding replacement parts is impossible

V only smokes the occasional joint and gets drunk once in a blue moon. She's managed to avoid smoking completely and is pissed that Johnny tried to sabotage that.

“She gives him the occasional cigarettes "as a treat"

"Aww Johnny you were actually a decent human being, here have a cigarette"

"I'm not a fucking cat V"

"Just say thank you, Dickhead"

"Fuck off"

"Love you too"

Has a bullet wound scar on her thigh which is covered up with a simple black band tattoo. Her only other significant scars are some on her chest from a motorcycle crash as a 16 year old. She's always had decent access to a ripper doc so while she's been injured a lot, she doesn't have many scars

Personality:

V is a sweetheart. She honestly believes the best of everyone. She grew up in a nomad community where everyone worked together for the good of everyone, and kind of expects the same of everyone in night city.

She continues to trust people blindly, despite being burned a couple times. She has faith in herself to be able to fight her way out of a bad situation should she get backstabbed, so shed rather bet on people being generally good.

Life can be rough in the badlands. Resources are scarce. Vic learned how to conserve resources from a young age. Shes frugal with her money, hoards anything that might be useful, and is really into reusing/recycling things. Shes brought Hiro cyberware she pulled out of dead bodies and is generally handing with mechanical fixes.

This also applies to food. When youve had days were literally the only thing you had to eat that day were some dusty grasshoppers you managed to forage, your standards for food fall drastically.

This drives Hiro and Johnny nuts who often have to stop her from eating random/possibly poisoned food.

The fact that shes a blindly trusting person just amplifies this.

*V walking in with a plate of cookies*

"..whats that V?"

-Nv: "Oh hey, the neighbor gave me these cookies! Want some?"

*Johnny and Hiro who both know you shouldn't accept random food from strangers in Night City, immediately disposing of them.*

-Nv: "What a waste of food :("

-H: "HOW MANY DID YOU EAT?"

-J: "How did you live before us?!"

-H: "Jackie. It was definitely Jackie, the Saint."

-...Not very long later,

"we see you V, don't eat those out of the bin"

-Nv:" :("

She's very secure in her sexuality, a naturally attractive and sexual person. Her clan had very little sexual stigma at all, its hard to have any shame over sex when there's only tents without soundproof walls. Her whole clan was definitely also very into free love/poly/open relationships, to the point were most kids didn't know who their parents were and were raised communally. Having sex was just a platonic thing that just sort of happened.

-Nv: “It’s hard to get all embarrassed about privacy when you grew up in a place with only tent walls. It’s just sex.

-SKv: “V, you blush and get tongue-tied whenever the hot neighbor even vaguely looks your way.

-NV: “WELL I didn’t normally have to ASK for sex, it just kinda happened and flirting is HARD, AND YOU NIGHT CITY RESIDENTS ARE ALL SNEAKY ABOUT IT”

Shes used to having sex with her platonic friends, her first couple of one night stands in NC were just an absolute mess--then she tried to sleep with Jackie which went predictably well.

-NV: “Do you want to have sex?”

-Jackie: *Chokes on his tequila. “What?! I’m with Misty??”

-NV: “...and?”

-Jackie: “I mean...I mean you never gave any signs?!

-NV: “Signs??”

-Jackie: “Hermana, most people in NC don’t just sleep with their friends. I mean. They do. But they don’t. It’s complicated.”

-NV: “Obviously.”

Considering that, V is. HORRID. at flirting in Night City. She's never really had to do that kind of verbal dance before and a lot of come on/innuendo goes over her head. She also has zero body shame and often walks around their apartment naked and will change nonchalantly in public.

-Nv: *Noticing people staring at her at the club and going into work mode*

-Hiro: *Noticing Nv counting the exits*

"what's wrong?"

-Nv: "That man's staring at me. Maybe he's Arasaka."

-Hiro: "He's staring at your ass, V."

-Nv: "Oh."

Definitely has the occasional “why the fuck didn’t you just say so?!” moments with the boys

*Cue SKv trying to be seductive all day, dropping things and bending over to get them all slow, changing in the living room/working out shirtless, ect. Nv is appreciative but she doesn’t really do anything, and by the end of the day*

-SKv: “For the love of god JUST FUCK ME ALREADY”

-Nv: “What? Alright, geeze all you had to do was ask.”

As trusting as V is, she's an amazing soldier. Her ex military father has been training her to kill people and protect their clan since she was six. She killed her first human at 9 years old.

Due to this while she is a friendly, happy person when she's in a fight or during a mission, she becomes a cold and calculated person, all emotion wiping from her face. She makes quick, decisive decisions, cutting her enemies down at the knees before they have a chance to fight back.

She's a brutal shot with her sniper rifle, knows her way around precision rifle and is deadly with knives both as a close range and throwing weapon.

Vic has a tactical brain/training and is always planning. Its instinct by now. Planning the exits to a room, the quickest way to take down any possible assailants, an enemys open weak points. She takes pride in her skills as a soldier as she sees it as her way of protecting/providing for her family.

As outgoing a person she is she sometimes goes too far when in 'work mode' and needs Hiro to be her moral compass/pull her back.

Her ways of tackling missions is finding a snipers nest and waiting patiently until the perfect moment presents itself, no longer how long that takes. Plus a healthy dose of stealth and pinpoint accuracy.

It takes a lot to push her to revenge but if you threaten her family, she will pick you, your backup, adult (v doesnt touch kids.) family and resources apart methodically, patiently and brutally until your the last one standing. Then she will let you stew, waiting for her final shot. It could come immediately, a week later or even a month

#V #cyberpunk v #cyberpunk 2077 #Victory Devin #Cinnamon roll whos possessed by an assassin #literally just poison her guys #itd be so easy #v is a crackshot #She's going to drive Hiro and Johnny to an early death #that's love right #headcannons #excessive headcannons

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blkgirlcafe · 4 years ago

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Home PT. 4

Viktor Drago x Cyra (Black OFC)

Cyra (Ky-Ra) -Sun or throne

Kazimir (Kah-Zee-Meer) - Bringer or Announcer of peace

Viktor Drago is married to the love of his life, they have a 5 year old son. He is willing to do anything to keep them safe.

Warning: Kidnapping, abuse, mentions of child abuse

Flashback 2

Viktor watched her everyday, he hoped it did not come off creepy but she was different and so pretty. If Ivan caught his eye wondering he would smack him back into focus. Ivan had given him a break, he was sitting on the floor, with his water, protein bar and fruit, watching her. She was on the treadmill, going a good pace. He couldn't help but look at her butt, it was so shapely, more than the other women from this area.

She stopped running, using a towel to wipe her face. She cleaned the equipment, never once taking off her headphones. Viktor watched her mouth the songs, he wondered what she was listening to too.

She began to walk his way, maybe she was leaving, she had only been here 30 minutes. In horror he realized she was walking towards him, she was smiling at him. He quickly swallowed the bite of food in his mouth, chasing it down with a big gulp of water.

“You know if you are going to stare at me, you could come say hi.” she smiled.

“I’m Sorry, I didn't mean to.” he mumbled, letting his head fall.

“It's fine kinda, I’m Cyra, nice to meet you.” she held out her hand.

Viktor scrambled to get up, drawing a giggle from her. He shook her hand, “Viktor, nice to meet you.”

He said the name a few times in his head, not trusting himself to say it just yet. She licked her lips and he caught himself staring, looking away.

“Povernutysya do roboty!”Ivan yelled at him. (Back to work!)

Cyra jumped and Viktor hated it, hated that she felt scared. Without a word he turned back to the punching bag.

Viktor picked Ivan up from the airport, he had not seen his father in over 7 years. When he left the Ukraine to be with Cyra. His dad told him he would regret it, that it was a mistake, that no one would love him like he did, and that he belonged in his country, fighting for it.

But the love and acceptance he found with Cyra, with her family, the warmth, was a million times better than he could have dreamed of. He got up everyday happy, he felt whole, he truly smiled.

“Have you talked to them?” Ivan asked.

“Today no, yesterday I did, just a little bit so I know they are still alive.”

“Then there is hope.”

“Why do you owe him 500k?” Viktor asked, turning into the driveway of his home. Part of him wished Cyra's car was parked outside the garage like usual. He never understood why they had three garages and she always parked outside the door unless it was raining. When Viktor came home he would always put her car in the garage.

“I made some bets, I didn't win.”

“So this is what you do now, you bet on fights?” Viktor was pissed off.

“What else am I supposed to do, you left me.” Ivan shot back.

Viktor got out, slamming the door behind him. Unbelievable, no matter what his dad would find a way to blame him. His mom left, somehow his fault, he lost a fight, his fault, he won a fight, not his fault.

He put his phone on the kitchen charger, as obsessed Cyra was with phones, she had chargers all over the house. She wouldn't let his phone slip below 80% in fear of a missed call. His thoughts kept going back to his wife and child.

“Nice place you got here. How much does it cost you?”

“None of your damn business, you can sleep in the guest bedroom, as soon as this is over you are on the first flight back home.”

“If I want to see my grandson?”

“You don't deserve to, you are the reason he is in this mess.”

“We will pay him and this will be over?” Ivan said.

“We? You don't have a dime to your name and he doesn't want money.”

“Well what does he want?”

---

As far as Cyra could tell that they were here for 3 days. They were fed 3 meals a day, and they currently were on their 3rd dinner. Kazi seemed a little happy with his french fries and chicken nuggets. Their captors had bought kazi toys, she guess they got tired of his whining.

They gave her nothing to occupy her time, it was driving her crazy. The door opened and the guy called Andriy mentioned for her to come here. Kazi stopped eating, sensing the shift in the room.

“Mama be back baby.”

“Ok Mama.” he sat there, watching her leave. The door was closed and locked behind her.

She was sitting on a couch, given her phone and told to facetime her husband, she did eagerly wanting to see his face, just to know everything was alright. He picked up quickly and Cyra smiled despite herself, she missed her husband.

“Baby are you okay?” he blurted out and the phone was snatched from her hand.

“She is fine, just finishing up dinner. I believe Kazi loves his dino nuggets. Is Ivan there?”

“Yes.”

“Give the old man the phone.”

Cyra watched with tears in her eyes, she wanted to see him so bad, to hear him say it was going to be okay. He was her rock, the only thing that made her feel better when shit was tough.

“Ivan, nice to see you, especially since you've been ducking me and my men.”

“Wasn't ducking, just getting my affairs in order.”

“Did your son tell you what I want?”

“Yes, he will do it.”

“Of course he will, because you know two lives mean nothing to me.”

“Yes I know.”

“And I still want my money.” Andriy handed her the phone back, Ivan face way too close to the screen.

“You have two minutes.”

Viktor came back into view, “Where is Kazi?”

“In the room babe, he's fine, we are fine.”

“Are you hurt, can I see him?”

“I don't think that best baby, he has been crying for you since we left, he sees you. I wont get him calm again.”

A tear slid down her cheek, it was tearing her up to tell him no. She wanted nothing more than to have her boys back together.

“Cyra I love you so much, I will do anything to get you two back here.”

“I know baby, I love you too.”

“Say bye.” Andriy said to her.

Cyra teary eyed said goodbye. She was escorted back to her room, Kazi was laying on the bed crying.

Cyra went to him, picking him up, trying to sooth him.

“It's okay baby boy, mama wasn't far, right there, I would never leave you.”

----

Flashback 3

Their first date happened by accident. Cyra was running late to the gym, a study group ran super late, then she needed to do laundry before it closed. But she was determined to at least get her mile in. It was cold and dark by the time she got to the gym, lucky her it was open late. Not many people were left in the gym, a few stragglers like herself. She hopped on the treadmill and set a steady pace, being in a rush had Cyra had forgotten her headphones.

She finished her mile and realized she was alone in the gym. She quickly grabbed her bag and hoody, heading towards the door. Waiting by the front desk was the giant Viktor.

“Hey Vik.” She smiled at him.

He shyly looked away, mumbling a hi. She made it outside, throwing her hood over her head.

“Hey, you walking home?” Viktor stopped her.

“Yeah, I was going to get food first, want to come?” she smiled. Cyra watched the decisions play over his face, he didn't say much but his face did.

“Sure if it means you aren't walking home alone in the cold and dark.”

“Well come on, my treat since you want to be a gentleman.” she bumped his arm with his shoulder, he didn't budge at all.

They ended up at a local place not far from her shared apartment, the table was small, her and Vikor close together as the food was bought out. Cyra did most of the talking, Viktor listened and gave little input here and there, but he mostly was content with listening to her.

“”Tell me something random about yourself?” she said, grabbing a potato pancake from his plate, he smiled at the action.

“I don't have anything, sorry.” he looked away.

“Vik, if we are going to be friends you gotta stop saying sorry, don't be sorry for who you are.” she nudged his thigh.

“Sor...I mean ok. I like silent films.”

“I can see that, you are like the strong but silent type, it fits you.”

Viktor felt like he was drowning, in a good way. She smelled great, her touch was soft, he was not used to these things. He was used to a smelly gym, with men with rough hands that threw hard shots.

“I should get going, I do have class in the morning, and I am sore.”

“You are sore because your form is bad.”

She gasped and Viktor thought for a second she was upset for a second until a grin broke out on her face, “Wow, everyone can't be a pro like you, maybe show me one day the right way.”

Cyra paid the check, which he felt bad about, he would get the next one he told himself. He walked her home, saying goodbye when they reached her apartment. He stood outside watching her go in, hoping she would be okay.

He quickly made his way home, knowing that Ivan would be upset with him for being out too late, they got up at 4am to start training.

----

Cyra has been gone 5 days, his son gone 5 days, it was driving him crazy. Normally this close to a fight he tried to take it easy, doing light workouts, watching film, mentally preparing himself for battle. But this was different, he called his manager and had a press conference schedule for today.

Viktor was doing this for his wife and child, he closed his eyes, he could see them. He could see Cyra and her soft smile, the way she smiled at him. He could see Kazi and his unruly hair, bouncing all over the room, wanting to touch everything. His manager came back into the room, interrupting his daydream.

“You sure you want to do this, this isn't like you, and you look like shit. Where is Cyra?”

“I have to do this, Cyra and kazi are with her family out of town.”

“She has always been by your side and now she goes out of town, not like her bro. We go on in 5 mintues. Want to tell me why your dad is here?”

“Support.”

“Bullshit Vik and you know it, something not right, there is something you aren't telling me. Did Cyra leave you?”

“What?! No!” he sighed.

“Then what is it, because I swear on everything I love I have never seen you like this before.”

“Just drop it, Let them know I am ready.”

Viktor paced the room, he had ditched his normal gym attire for a dark blue suit, with a red tie. Cyra had picked it out for him, it was supposed to be for the press conference that happened 24 hours before the fight.

The guy interviewing him wasted no time, jumping right in.

“Viktor Drago, to say I am surprised is an understatement, you usually are very quiet before a fight, why the sudden change?”

“I think I have proved myself enough that I can brag and be boastful, gone are the quiet days. Every person you guys have put before me, I have won against. Now it is time for me to talk my shit. I will beat Jaun lopez ass, just like I did everyone else before me.”

“This new Big Nasty, I love him. You are a champ and deserve to talk about your accomplishments.”

“I won lose this fight, I will prevail.” Viktor stood up, mimicking the ignorant stance he had seen other boxers take before walking off. He quickly made his way back to the room, locking the door behind him. He slid to the ground, hyperventilating.

----

They let Cyra watch and she was sick the whole time, this was not like her husband. She couldn't believe that her son and herself were being held captive over a boxing match. It made her mad that these people thought her son's life was worth so little. They threw her back in the room afterwards, whenever they pulled her out Kazi always cried, she sat next to him, gently stroking his hair.

“Mama, I heard Tata here?”

“No Sweetie I wish,he was on TV, the bad people made me watch.”

His tears flowed harder, this was the most seen ever song cry. Her Kazimir, her maker of peace, was always giggly and smiley, he always had a fun fact to share. He was a Daddy’s boy, preferring to hang on to Viktor's side when he could. His dad took him to the gym often with him, they spent countless hours together, without her.

She knew being a father was so important to Viktor, he was intent on being the best dad he could be. His own spoiled relationship with his dad ensured he did everything different. He encouraged Kazi interest outside of sports, not pushing him like Ivan did to him.

“Tata wouldn't leave us.” he cried.

“I know baby and he didn't, he is looking for us, the bad people are keeping us hidden, like a game of hide and seek, tata will find us.”

“I don't like them.”

“Me either Kazi, they are so mean and stupid.”

“Mama bad word.”

“It's okay Kazi, in cases like this we can say bad words.”

Her son perked up, he was never allowed to say bad words, words like stupid, ugly, were not allowed, he had to find others words to replace those.

“Can I say one mama.” he looked up at her teary eyed.

“Yes baby, just one. But remember when we get home, no more.”

“I am going to save mine.”

Cyra smiled at this, just like her son to outsmart her.

The door swung open, the woman telling them they could go to the bathroom. Kazi once again stood at the door while she used the restroom as if protecting her.

“You go outside, but don't get loud or get any ideas.”

They were led out a backdoor, the yard fenced in, the sun was out and shining, Kazi ran to the fence and back to her happy to be outside. Cyra sat on the ground and let her son run circles around her. Eventually one of the guys joined them, kicking a soccer ball into the yard. Kazi perked up, still weary of the men.

The ball was softly kicked to him, and he kicked it back. He looked at her uncertain of what to do.

“It's okay baby.”

She hoped that if he played enough he would sleep well tonight. He was having nightmares and not sleeping well. And once he woke up, there was no getting him back to sleep, he would ask her a million questions that she didn't have the answers for.

#Viktor Drago #viktor drago x cyra #viktor drago x black woman #florian muneanu #smutty writer #black writers

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altcvnningham · 4 years ago

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1, 3, 5, 15, 18 and 20 😳😳😳😳

thank you for the ask!!! (also superior url omg 👁👄👁🤲🏻)

also my answers here are suuuuper long, because i’m a rambling idiot who’s way too involved in my OC’s. so uhhhh sorry in advance,,,,,

1. what radio station(s) do you listen to?

Vana’s a Samurai stan. She wishes she wasn’t. But, y’know, Morro Rock it is. Once upon a time when she was an even angrier teen, though, she’d listen to shit just like Ritual FM.

(My music taste is all over the place, and though blues is technically my fav bc i love old music, i never listen to it in 2077. So I switch between Body Heat, the Dirge, Vexelstrom for like 2 songs, and ofc, Morro Rock. But of all stations, there’s at least one song that i HATE so I can never stick to one for a whole ride sknsksjsjs)

i think i got the names right?? Idk yall i dont have it in front of me ndndndndhjs

3. how did you feel about Johnny that first night in the apartment, and how does it differ from what you feel now after everything?

so i’m gonna cut a read-more here because i decided to just lore dump Vana x Johnny here so uhhhhhh rip also //SPOILERS//

Vana is an extremely, seriously private, guarded person. Before Johnny, Panam, Kerry- Jackie was the only person she’d ever truly let near her, to get to know her. So obviously waking up to someone else living inside her fucking head was one of the worst things that’s ever happened to her. Her past is also something she’s not particularly proud of, so Johnny getting to witness all that is traumatising. Getting Johnny out of her head was priority number one, even if digging the chip out would kill her.

But after getting fucked over by the VBs, and both of them thinking she was gonna die, Johnny takes her to that abandoned hotel in Pacifica- it’s the first time he’s given her even a sliver of kindness, and the first time she’s ever openly expressed her fears to him, even if he could already sense them before. Oaths and promises are something she holds to incredibly high importance, so obviously when Johnny gives her his dog-tags, ‘proof of my promise’, she never, ever lets them go, never takes them off. (she still doesn’t. they keep her grounded. holding them to calm herself has become a reflex, for whatever reason.)

Everything just seemed to slowly change after that. For two people who hate vulnerability, it’s the only thing that helped them actually see each other. As the Relic continues to take over, they both understand each other more, feel each other more- and eventually it becomes hard to discern where Vana ends and Johnny begins. In cliché Johnny x V fashion like yeah duh it goes further,,,, cockwhore!Vana,,,,,, but with that they also start to become extremely possessive and jealous over one another- Johnny immediately on the defensive about whoever comes close to her, Vana selfishly hiding and keeping Johnny’s existence to herself, even if it slows the hunt for a remedy to the chip- to the point of seriously toxic co-dependency. It’s full of volatile ups-and-downs, fights and make-ups, and Vana almost comes to like the fact that she never has to explain nor hide what thoughts and feelings pass through her mind, no matter how dark or vulnerable. She prefers most things to remain unsaid, but values the fact that they both have a clear, transparent understanding of each other regardless.

But there's also... softer moments. When Johnny puts aside his ego for once, he learns to like the quiet that Vana does, brief as it can be sometimes. He'll sort of just... stay around the room, even if just to procrastinate retreating back into her head, because they realise they like each other's silent, wordless company. He'll wake her up from nightmares, hold her neck and kiss her back to sleep, or until the sun comes up, if she can't. It's all tender things they often pretend doesn't even happen, out of pride, I think, but they both know deep down that those are really the best parts.

Comes to a place where she suddenly hits a wall, and realises, I don’t want him to leave.

She’s never the same again after Mikoshi.

(But uhh anyway fuck V I’m horny on main for Keanu so i was here for the whole riiiiiide yeeeeeee)

5. how do your loved ones (LI, found family, etc) feel about you being a merc? or if you’ve given up the life now that everything’s finished, what was their reaction?

Vana grew up in a rich corp family, and after all the shit she’s endured just to appease her father, don’t think anyone could hate corps more than she does (some details of her past here!!) So when Arasaka kicks her out and Jackie finally convinces her to start merc work, it’s amazing how quickly she slips into the role, almost like she was made for it- an anonymous face within the city, free to roam and drift as she wants, relying on herself and herself only.

Vana works quickly and quietly enough (though not at all with clean hands), relying on stealth and netrunning, so she doesn’t cause too much of a noise that’d have her loved ones (rare as they are) all too concerned. Judy isn’t scared Vana’d be caught in gunfire, because when Vana works, her targets rarely know she’s even there. She’s smart, cunning. Panam appreciates that these skills have helped her out, so she can’t complain. River- who is unfortunately more fond of Vana than she is of him, given that she’s not too comfortable at accepting affection- isn’t too happy about the life she leads, but hey, it’s her skills as a merc and as one of NC’s most adept netrunners that he even stood a chance of finding Randy as quick as he did, so he feels indebted to her for that. Kerry thinks it’s fuckin awesome that she gets to do as she wants and provides for herself, bestieeees

Given she isn’t all that close with many people- keeping her distance and all- the only people who seriously worry about her are folks like Vik, Misty, and Mama Welles, especially the latter two, who knew how much Jackie meant to her, and how easily she cracks under the weight of grief. The only thing, really, that concerns everybody around her, is how insatiable her bloodlust becomes, and how much she'd throw away just to try and quell it.

Johnny’s just in it for the ride. Rather she work for herself than a filthy corp, anyway.

After Mikoshi, losing Johnny, making it to the major leagues, she fuckin... just doesn't care anymore. She hates the big glass house that was practically forced onto her (reminds her too much of her stifling corp childhood), she hates that she has 20 cars that clog up her garage and not just her trusty red Yaiba Kusanagi, hates that folks keep giving her all this shiny golden shit that she doesn't want, like any of it's worth a damn. Since then she's hardly in one place- never at home if she can help it, and either wanders aimlessly around the streets and crashes over at Kerry's to sleep through grief. It isn't the merc life she wants to leave, but major leagues turned out to be a glittering pile of dogshit she wants no part in. She only really stays there because Jackie would've wanted it.

(i’m a lazy bitch like i don’t wanna be a merc. i wanna be one of those cute npc’s with the glowy earrings and bunny backpacks and skimpy plastic skirts, who picks up noodles on the way home to go watch watson whore. in my ideal life i am NOT the main character snnsmsnsks)

15. which NPC is your bff?

Kerry. Kerry is Vana’s ride or die. No fucking questions asked. Kerry’s the only person (besides Johnny, i guess) as close to her as Jackie was. He’s really the only person that ever gets her to smile, like really, stupidly, goofily smile, and despite being almost complete opposites, they just understand each other so well. Whenever they need something, they're the first person they'll call. Happens so often that just as Vana sifts through her contacts to find his, Kerry's already calling for her first. They're practically joint at the hip.

They both live loud, fast lives, but also know how to make time for silence and introspection, something they both need to stay grounded. Vana doesn't buy into his zen-wellness-yoga crap, but sure, she tries copying a couple moves while he's doing it on a lazy afternoon, before scoffing how this is fuckin' dumb and retreats back to the couch. Also, as much as she hates being reminded of the wealth that came with her corpo upbringing, she loves using up all his expensive products, and tends to klep a bottle of his shampoo when she runs out. Cute how she thinks he doesn't notice.

After what happened in Mikoshi, she practically lives at Kerry's place, just dozing away miserably as he lounges by the pool, or curl up on the couch to mindlessly watch his old Samurai tapes (he doesn't like it much, but if it helps her through whatever shit she's going through, he's not gonna take that away from her). On better days, when she actually pulls herself out of bed, he teaches her to play guitar, slipping in a couple tricks Johnny taught him. Funnily enough, the whole thing helps him find some closure too.

( me,, I need a girl like Panam in my life to endorse all of my stupid ideas )

18. what’s your dream cyberware (either something that was shown in lore that wasn’t available in game or mental creation of your own)?

I don’t have access to the tabletop lore stuff rn so i’m gonna pull this out my ass jsjsns

Anything that helps Vana become more deadly at stealth and netrunning. The most eddies she’s ever blown are on increasingly powerful cyberdecks, cooling systems, netrunning gear she can comfortably slip on under a jacket and boots- she likes convenience and functionality, but she needs it to be comfortable, too. She’d fucking kill for anything that lets her scale silently up walls and across ceilings, though- like a spider- and anything that lets her get her hands reeeeal bloody, but quietly. Guess that’s just called a knife, though.

(Me?? Fuck uhhh man i just want synth-skin that looks normal but also shimmers all pink n cute. Literally wanna be an edward cullen sparkly lookin mf. Also, i’m sorry but scanning shit w Kiroshi’s are so dope that’s literally all i want?? Idk i’m boring and mantis blades freak me out uhh)

20. is there anyone you’re crushing on that’s unavailable? (yes this is the “what romance option(s) are you foaming at the mouth for” question)

Answered here :)

(And i’ll say it again, PLACIIIIIIIDE,)

#ask #vana #vana lore #i am #SO SORRY #that this is so long #u ask me ab my OCs it's bound to happen #thank u v much for the ask!!#i had a ton of fun!#:D

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midnightartemis · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter Three Up Now ~

Read Me Here

He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about her every second of every day since he first saw her. It was beginning to turn into a waking nightmare almost. One fucking conversation with this girl and he was gone. She didn’t even give him her last name. She had fallen asleep on the couch not long after she stopped giggling about his tax evasion quip. He wasn’t surprised; she had finished off the rest of the joint on her own. He could watch the smoke pour from her lips for eternity. He was usually an adamant follower of the puff puff pass rule.

Rey from Jakku was going to be the death of him.

When he went to put a blanket over her again, she barely even moved.

The only thing that did distract Ben from her was the impending showdown between him and Kuruk. The man almost matched him in height, though he was much skinnier. That just made him a little bit faster. And Rey taking a liking to Ben has only pissed Kuruk off.

Much to his disappointment, Rey left before anyone else in the loft woke up. No one woke up before two anyway.

Ben rolled a joint as the coffee brewed. The smell eventually woke everyone else up and soon the couch was full, the room smelled of freshly ground sour diesel, and Saturday morning cartoons played on the projector. After a cup of coffee, AP pulled out a wad of cash and divided it out into piles. The largest went to Ben for supplying, the second largest to AP for manufacturing and delivery, and The rest was split between Kuruk, Trudge, Ushar, and… Ben frowned. He hadn’t seen Cardo or Vik and there was one last pile. AP saw him eyeing it. “It’s for Rey.”

“Rey?”

“Yeah, got a problem?” Kuruk was already starting to dig in. Push the issue until it came to a breaking point.

“Thought it took a unanimous vote to let someone in.” Ben eyed each of the guys.

AP, ever the peacemaker, stepped in. “She’s not in.”

Ben relaxed a little. They hadn’t forced her through initiation.

“If she was, Kuruk would not be left standing.” Trudge chuckled.

“Yeah, how’s your nose doing fucker?” Kuruk seethed.

Trudge threw his meaty hands in the air. “Hey, I learned my lesson. She could tell me to eat shit and I’d listen.”

How had a girl that tiny instilled so much fear and reverence into this tiny fucked up group?

“She helps me with the books sometimes. That’s why she gets a share.” AP finally supplied. “We trust her.”

Ben gave a shallow nod. “And Cardo. Vik?”

“Vik’s been MIA since the baby. Cardo will show up when he feels like it.”

Ben let his face drop into his mask. Unfazed from the outside. Warring on the inside. He hadn’t even known Vik was having a kid.

The impromptu meeting ended as quickly as it had begun. Trudge and Ushar settled into their cartoons. At least that much hadn’t changed. Kuruk fucked off to somewhere else and AP sat on the couch looking conflicted. After a few minutes, the quiet guy seemed to resign himself to an answer. He stood, his face dead serious as he looked Ben in the eye. “We should talk.”

That was one of the many things Ben secretly admired about AP. He was one of the originals and in the ten years Ben had known him, the man had barely changed. He didn’t sugarcoat. Didn’t play games. Though he could be a bit cryptic, everything was always dead serious with AP.

Ben nodded and followed the dude out the door and onto the small patio. The dry heat of the afternoon hit him in full force as they stepped out. He lit his joint and didn’t offer it to AP knowing the dude would just say no anyway.

“What the fuck are your intentions here, Ben?”

Ben stilled as he brought the joint to his lips. No one in the Knights ever called him Ben. He was pretty sure Trudge and Ushar didn’t even know his name wasn’t actually Kylo. And AP- AP only used it when he was beyond dead serious.

“You know what my intentions are.”

“You were supposed to get out of this. You were supposed to leave and never come back.”

“Yeah well that didn’t fucking work out, did it?” Ben growled and smashed the lit end of the joint into the metal railing.

“You can’t just come waltzing back expecting to throw a few punches and make everything magically the same as before. It’s not the same, Ben. Why the fuck did you come back?”

Ben huffed a laugh. “Where else would I go?”

“Did you even call your mom? Have you even told her you dropped out?”

“I never said I dropped out.”

“You didn’t have to.” AP scowled and he dropped his gaze to the dead fields of grass. “I would have heard about it if the chemistry lab purposefully got blown up.”

Ben narrowed his eyes and gave AP a long side glance. “You’re still seeing that TA?”

“He’s an adjunct Professor now.” AP sighs. It’s the happiest thing Ben thinks the guy’s ever done. “I know she’ll kill you herself if you hurt her but just know that the rest of us will help bury the body.”

Ben laughs a little and AP turns sharply to face him. “I’m fucking serious. You hurt her even just a little bit and I will wipe you off the face of this planet. She’s been through enough. So if you think she’s just some sick game to piss off Kuruk or a quick lay you back the fuck off and leave her alone.”

AP’s dark eyes are enough to tell Ben that if Rey didn’t kill him, he would. “She’s not. I don’t want to hurt her.”

AP smiles sadly. “You don’t want to. But you will.”

By the time Friday comes around, Ben is looking for a fight. He and Kuruk have steadily been pushing buttons and digging under each other’s skin for days now. It was only a matter of time before the party was set in motion. AP was noticeably absent first thing in the morning. It only takes Ben seeing the look on Kuruk’s face to know that time is up. They’re nearing breaking point and only one will come out victorious. It calls for a party the likes of which hadn’t been seen since Kylo took on Ren himself.

AP was out gathering the more illicit provisions while Trudge and Ushar carried a nearly endless chain of kegs and tubs and ice into the recently ‘unlocked’ basement of the warehouse. Ben and Kuruk were left to simmer. Ben poured himself a drink and set down to rolling the last of the weed to sell or smoke tonight. Rolling was one of the few things that calmed him- even when he could feel Kuruk’s pissed of stare burrowing into the back of his head. Even when AP’s words had been rattling around in there for days now, mixing with the images of her soft smile he held tightly onto. The one she tried to hide from him. And those hazel eyes that looked right at him and kept on digging. Everything about her drew him in. He couldn’t resist the chance for one touch of the light.

He hoped she wasn’t there tonight. He hoped she never saw what he really was. What he could do.

All hope of that was lost when she turned up beside AP a few hours deep into the party. His eyes latched onto her the moment he spotted her hair, up in three little buns. Her eyes were dark as bruises and anger boiled in him until he got a better view in the dim red right and realized that it was makeup. It was only wearing makeup. She wore a black holy t-shirt with a band logo on it so faded it was almost beyond recognition. Her jeans were covered in black sharpie doodles. Flowers, he thought. She had that scowl on her face not at all dissimilar to the one she first gave him. Within seconds AP had a drink in her hand.

Her eyes drank in the crowd, scanning the room until they landed on his. And stayed. A flash of pain danced across her eyes. There and hidden in an instant.

What did he do?

What-

“Are you even fucking listening to me?”

Ben looked back down at the tiny brunette clinging to his side. The woman had been incredibly persistent for the past hour, even going so far as trying to force him into an old, musty janitor's closet.

“Not particularly. No.” Ben barely spared her a glance.

“God, you’re a fucking asshole.” The woman stormed away, finally taking his hints. When he searched the crowd again, Rey was gone.

He knew he was an asshole. He knew it and he went off in Rey’s direction anyway. He needed to explain. He needed to know why she looked so hurt when she saw him. He found AP first.

“Where’d she go?”

“It’s almost midnight.”

Ben could give two fucks about Kuruk and midnight. “Where’d she go?”

AP sighed and shrugged. “I’m not her keeper. She can handle herself.”

“You’re a dick you know that, Finn?”

The dude shrugged and went back to fucking off. Ben pushed through the crowd. Most people parted automatically for him mostly thanks to his size and his ability to not give a fuck about anyone. Anyone but her. He couldn’t explain why now at this moment he felt like the entire world rode on his ability to get to her, to find her, to explain himself when there was nothing yet to explain.

He pushed through a rather large group of people and stumbled into an open pocket in the middle of the crowded room. Music screamed through every inch of the room- the bass shaking the foundations.

His eyes searched the room until they landed on the messy row of three buns, the faded black tee. The hand gripping her waist. The anger in her eyes. The smirk on Kuruk’s lips as he turned to look at Ben.

Ben felt the dark thing inside him snap. Kuruk has found the breaking point. Ben grabbed the nearest glass bottle and slammed it on the ground.

He comes to when he feels her touch burning hot against the skin of his wrist. So feather-light he shouldn’t have been able to feel it but it stops him like a live wire. The room around him has gone deadly quiet and it takes a moment for him to feel the stares of dozens of silent people. There’s a groan from underneath him and he looks down to see what’s left of Kuruk’s bloody face. The man is completely slack underneath him, not even trying to fight back.

“Ben. That’s enough.” Rey says quietly, her voice firm. He lets her pull him away with gentle tugs. His mind wars between

She’s touching me she’s touching me she’s touching me

And

Is he dead is he dead is he dead

AP, Trudge, and Ushar emerge from the crowd to haul Kuruk away. He’d gone too far. Way too far. He could tell by the terrified looks he got as he passed through the crowd.

She’s touching me she’s touching me she’s touching me

Outside that small basement room, the party is still in full swing, blissfully unaware of the night's main event. He doesn’t feel a thing but the touch of her skin around his wrist. She leads him deftly through the crowd and up the narrow staircase to the loft. Vik steps away from the lofts' entrance, letting them by. Door duty . Kylo thinks stupidly. He used to hate door duty.

Rey’s touch left him as she sat him down on the couch. He let out a small pitiful whimper at its loss.

“Relax. I’m only going to get the first aid shit.” He might have been imagining it but he thought he saw her smile.

Rey disappeared into the bathroom and emerged a minute later with a giant box of medical supplies. It was even labeled medical supplies in handwriting he didn’t recognize. Her handwriting.

She took out a white bottle and a piece of cloth to wet with the liquid. Ben shuddered and forced himself to stay still as she brought the cloth to his bloody knuckles and began dabbing at them. He dared not to speak as she took her hand in his and turned it this way and that to clean away his skin. The cloth came away bright red. She moved to his other hand and added more of the clear liquid to the cloth. He sucked in a breath as she ran the cloth across his knuckles. Her hands worked quickly then to wrap his hand in gauze.

When he thought she was done she grabbed a fresh cloth and sat close to him. Closer than she ever had before. He could count her freckles against her tan skin, smell the warm earthy scent coming off of her, feel the heat of her against him. He was too dumbstruck to move and was fighting a losing battle against his desire to look at her lips. To taste her just one time. Rey brought the cloth to his lips. Her fingers gently guided him to look at her, to tilt his chin down to her reach. The throbbing in his face slowly came to the front of his mind. It seemed Kuruk had gotten a couple hits in after all.

She cleaned his skin carefully, working up the side of his face. He closes his eyes as she gets to his brow, letting her soft touch consume him. She had seen him at his worst and yet she was still here. She wasn’t flinching away.

“Rey.” Her name came out as a soft whisper that hung in the air between them. She had to come to him, he knew that much. He couldn’t open his eyes. He could only hope that she understood. The cloth dropped away from his eye. Soft lips pressed against the corner of his own. Ben opened his eyes to see her looking up at him. Hopeful. Hungry.

The door to the apartment swung open and the rest of the knights piled into the apartment. Trudge carried a half-conscious Kuruk over his shoulders. Ben cursed under his breath as Rey moved away from him and made room for Trudge to set Kuruk on the couch. The man moaned pitifully and Ben bit back a smirk.

“Cops got called.” AP moved through the room quickly, clearing off the coffee table and locking everything away in the safe built into the wall.

“Warrant?” Ben asked.

“Not likely. Unless they’ve been sitting on it.” Vik shut the door after Cardo slipped in and locked it. Cardo had been at the front door taking entrance fees. He was probably the one to sound the alarm.

“You need to take off?” Ben asked Vik. The dude had a kid now. He couldn’t get caught up in petty shit.

Vik shrugged and moved through the room, picking up a warm, unopened beer. “I’ll just hide in the back. Jenny and Ambrose weren’t expecting me.”

The man tossed him the lock's key and disappeared through the hole in the wall. Trudge and Ushar moved the one giant bookcase over the hole.

“You shouldn’t be here either.” Ben turned his focus back to Rey. She was kneeling beside Kuruk and cleaning him up with a fresh cloth, though she wasn’t being half as gentle with Kuruk as she had with him.

“I’ll just hide under the spare bed. The cops don’t give two shits about me.”

Spare bed?

Ben was about to argue the point until he saw the look AP gave him. Rey could take care of herself.

Ben let it go. “Take Kuruk to his room. Don’t need cops coming in ‘cause there’s a half-dead dude on the couch.”

Trudge and Ushar pull Kuruk off the couch and Rey packs up the medical supplies. A few minutes later, the loft looked like almost any other night. Trudge and Ushar argued over what game to play and AP took up his spot on the couch, scrolling on his phone. Rey, however, was the one to go back to the projector to turn it on. He watched as she opened up the projector and blew inside. The projector came seamlessly to life. She turned on the Wii and tossed two of the remotes to the twins. “Mario Kart.”

They groaned as she smiled wickedly.

“Fucking fine. I want Moo Moo Meadows this time though.” Ushar pouted. Rey hesitated as she picked up the fourth remote. He guessed that was the one Kuruk usually got. Her hesitation only lasted a second before she lobbed it across the room to his hands. Ben caught it and held his breath as she slipped over the back of the couch to sit beside him. She was careful to not touch him and he was careful to do the same.

She picked out Moo Moo Meadows, Wario’s Gold Mine, and Rainbow Road. Ben barely tried as he watched her easily beat them as Daisy. Trudge always gave up halfway through and would start going the wrong way for fun. Ushar spent more time dying than racing. Ben managed to finish in a solid sixth place twice. She had no competition here. As she crossed the rainbow road finish line in first (a feat even he considered almost impossible), there was a loud knock at the door.

“CPD! Open up.”

Rey was gone before Ben could say anything. The door to his old room swung shut. So, that was the spare bedroom. He spared a glance at AP before standing up to open the door. He held his hand on the lock.

“This is a private residence. You got a warrant?”

“No, sir. Just a few questions.” Ben undid the heavy U lock and slid the heavy metal door open slowly. Two uniforms stood in the hall, their eyes hard and their hands near the guns on their hips. He didn’t recognize either of them. Newbies. Ben placed his hand against the door frame and the door, his body blocking most of the view inside.

“What’d you want?”

The guy cop's eyes went wide as he looked up and down Ben. “Are you in need of medical attention, sir?”

Ben glanced at the bandages on his hands. “Nah, I’m good. Just took a tumble down the stairs. Bit of a clutz.”

Neither of them believed him but that didn’t matter.

“Is there anyone in the house with you?”

Ben shrugged as the sounds of Mario Kart started up again. “Just my roommates.”

“Were you aware that there was an illegal event happening in the basement of this building?” The woman cop took over. She gave him a look like she would never believe anything that came out of his mouth.

“Illegal Event? No. I’ve been kicking their asses at Mario Kart all night.”

“Mario Kart.” The woman raised her eyebrows.

“That it?”

The cops didn’t reply.

“Great.” He said gruffly. “Have a good night officers.”

Ben slid the door shut and snapped the lock back on. He waited for another knock but it never came. He went to the kitchen to make an old-fashioned. It wasn’t as smooth as usual with bandaged hands that were beginning to shake. The fresh cut on his face was beginning to burn and tingle against the open air.

The twins moved the bookshelf away from the hole in the wall to let Vik back in. They switched from Mario Kart to COD. The door to his room stayed shut. Ben crossed the room and knocked softly. No reply. He pushed the door open slowly, letting the light shine in but not entering himself. The light landed on the black sheets of his old bed. Rey had curled in a ball in the center of it underneath the comforter. Her ribs moved up and down ever so slightly. She had fallen asleep. Ben shut the door softly.

He guessed he’d be sleeping on the couch tonight.

AP retired to take care of Kuruk not long after Ben sat down, drink in hand. He mindlessly watched the twins play COD. Vik took off once the cops had cleared out and Cardo followed soon after. Ben couldn’t fall asleep even with the pull of alcohol and his mindless staring. The twins cleared out, disappearing to their rooms in the back. Ben shifted out of his shoes and jeans. His shirt had turned almost solid with dried blood at the neck so he shed that too. Ben turned on the Wii. Alone in the glow of the projector, he thought about the touch of her lips against his skin. What would it feel like if she dared to touch him? What he would do to her if she let him touch her back? He was going to need to take a very very very cold shower. He tried to focus on Mario Kart instead.

Night passed into the wee hours of the morning. A cry echoed through the loft and Ben paused his failed attempt at Rainbow Road.

“No!”

The cry came from his room. Rey. Ben’s heart pounded as he leaped over the couch and opened the door to his room. Rey laid where he had left her, still curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed. She twitched, her head rolling back and forth as if she were trying to escape from something invisible. She cried out again at her nightmare.

“Rey.” His voice was hoarse from not speaking for hours. She twitched again, not waking up. “Rey- Rey, wake up. It’s only a nightmare.”

She whimpered and Ben crossed the room. He’d have to touch her to wake her up. He tried again. “Rey, wake up.”

She cried out again, a painful whimper that sent an ache shooting through his chest. He reached his hand out, prepared to snatch it away the moment he touched her. He touched her shoulder and she sprung awake, pushing herself to the far side of the bed so her back was against the wall. Ben backed up two steps, his hands in the air. “It’s just me. You were having a nightmare.”

“Ben?” Rey swallowed trying to hide the panic in her voice.

“Yeah. Just me. I tried calling your name but it didn’t work.”

Rey nodded slowly as she caught her breath. “I heard you. I think. I just couldn’t… get out of it. Did I wake you up?”

Ben shook his head. “Nah. I was practicing Mario Kart so you can have some actual competition.”

Her lips quirked up in an actual smile. “Well, at least someone has the balls to challenge me.”

Rey’s hair had fallen half-way out of her three buns. Her eyes were soft with sleep and there was an imprint of his pillow across her face. Her mind drifted to something else and she frowned. “Are you sleeping on the couch?”

“You were in my bed.” Ben shrugged. “Didn’t want to wake you up. Seemed like you needed it more than I did.”

“I can move to the couch.” Rey offered sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to steal your bed.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ben moved to go back out to the living room.

“Wait.”

Ben froze in his tracks trying not to get his hopes up too high. He turned back to her and found her eyes unabashedly looking over his bare chest.

“There’s room for two.”

“Are you sure?” He asked slowly.

The girl nodded. “Yeah.”

She shifted as he crossed the room and laid down on his back across the edge farthest from her. He risked a glance at her. She hadn’t moved from her spot against the wall. He said nothing beyond his silent plea.

Come to me. Before I break. Before I redesign myself to loneliness for the rest of my life.

He could feel her watching him. Evaluating. Fighting. She slowly lowered herself away from the wall and curled up beside him, not quite touching him but close enough that she might. Ben closed his eyes and let a new calm darkness wash over him.

I know it's warmer where you are And it's safer by your side But right now I can't be what you want Just give it time...

Well it's cold when we're apart And I hate to feel this die But you can't give me what I want Just give it time...

But for now we stay so far 'Til our lonely limbs connect I can't keep you in these arms So I'll keep you in my mind...

Can we meet in the middle Bodies and souls collide Dance in the moonlight Where all the stars align Oh you and I, oh you and I, oh

- You and I, PVRIS

#reylo #rey x ben #kylo x rey #reylo fanfic #reylo ao3 #reylo fanfiction #reylo au

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