#jackie lives

 a.k.a. “The One Where V(idel) Finally Talks to Misty.” | written by @themaximumpanic

• V and Jackie are back in the merc game, and got a few more gigs under their belt. A simple hit job—that’s all it should’ve been. But when V trips up and Jackie opts to take a hit meant for her, she’s forced to confront the consequences of the choices they made together. And that means looking someone dear to her right in the eyes.

Life Path: Medic | Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort | Word Count: < 3700

•••

Boot met the front gate in a hard kick, and summoned a loud iron rattle that startled the ripperdoc inside. Vic pulled away from the boxing match streaming on his monitor to see what appeared to be a bruised and battered V, heaving a half-conscious Jackie in on her back with what mountainous strength she could summon.

“Vic?Vic, I need you! Open up!”

“Jesus, V!” Vic exclaimed, fingers already itching as he rushed to open the door and help her carry him down the steps. Already he knew there was work to be done. “What-“

“Motherfucker took a mantis blade to the chest and he’s been bleeding out the whole way here. I need parts, Vic. Now.”

Glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose when the two lugged Jackie up onto the chair. V was pushing herself; that much was obvious by the sweat which soaked her face, and the dark circles under her eyes. But she was still ready to go.

Ocean eyes met his. “…Vic?”

“Right! Right… Sorry.” Two fingers pushed his glasses back up, and he refocused. Anesthetic gun in hand, needles shot into Jackie’s arm to dull the pain. Now they could get to work. “Assess the injuries. I have to know what implants we need.”

“Lacerations to the sternum, definitely cut down to the bone.” V instinctively reached for the utensil tray beside the chair, taking a rag in one hand and a scalpel in the other. “I need to get a better look. Something’s digging into his lung tissue.”

“Careful with that thing, alright?” Vic’s words hardly carried concern on his way to the storage room, despite the sharp blade in her possession poised over the patient’s chest. They both knew she’d done this before—on dozens of people before. She couldn’t screw it up even if she tried.

V adjusted the chair to the right height, lowering Jackie so she could stand over the injury sight directly. Her face hovered not that far from his, shallow breath heating the air between them. She felt it on her forehead, beneath her skin. Being close to him was like breathing in oxygen, so easy and so, so necessary.

With the scarlet ink staining his chest, she had no choice but to tear away the gold chains, to remove the cross around his neck. When her fingers locked around either end of the chain, she firmed her grip ready to tear it away, but stopped dead in her tracks when she analyzed the damage. A large dent occupied the face of the cross dead-center, caving in the head of the tiny carved out Jesus. The scratches on either side of the hole, as far as V could tell, were from the mantis blade that took him out cold. And to top it all off, there was just the smallest hole in the bottom.

A stifled laugh caught in her chest when she pieced the puzzle together.

That stupid cross saved his life.

A flick of the wrist, and the chain around his neck snapped, sound crisper and cleaner on her ears than any gunshot. Fingers twirled the silver scalpel in her hand. One cut here, another slice there, just enough to peel back the layers of skin for a clear view. Blood stained her calloused fingers—but the sight of the cut confirmed her fears. Jackie’s fourth rib was cracked. That was it. Jackie got away with a broken rib of all things.

“Ready, Jackie?” V exhaled, lip quivering, sweat forming on her brow. The blade lowered to his chest. “You’re about to see what Trauma Team’s Platinum coverage is really like.”

•••

A nick in her nail brought out a flinch. Pulling her thumbnail away from her teeth, V paced nervously beside the patient chair. Hours. It’d been hours since he went under the knife. He should’ve been awake by now. Why wasn’t he awake? Did they do everything right? Every little question that went through her head just made her that much more nervous. They’d taken out the rib and put in a steel replica, stitched all the scrapes up, sewn the lash on his chest shut, checked his vitals, pumped his system full of painkillers. Though the idiot was taking his sweet time napping like it was a trip to get his wisdom teeth out.

“V?” Vic pulled her attention away with a motion of his hand. Shoulders dropping, she followed him to the end of the room.

“How’d we do?”

“Well, he’s stable. You’re lucky that blade stopped digging at the bone. Otherwise-“

“Yeah.” A solemn nod of the head was all he needed. “I got you.”

A firm hand clapped down on her shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on him. He should be up and around in a few hours. You, on the other hand, need to go home and rest up.”

“But I-”

“He’ll be alright. I’ll make sure of it.” There wasn’t any doubt in that voice. V never had a reason not to trust Vic. The old man was loyal, through and through.

God, she hated that.

“Thank you, Vic.” She didn’t give him a chance to see that sad smile of hers, and with a quick nod of her head departed the clinic for sleep ahead.

The door slid closed behind her with a rattled thud. Her mind didn’t control her body. She just started walking while her thoughts kept her preoccupied. Every time she closed her eyes, the dark of her eyelids brought her back to that harrowing scene.

Tiger Claws pounced from either side. He and V had each other’s backs. In the heat of the momet, she slipped up, ran out of bullets, didn’t see one of them coming in time… But Jackie did. Jackie pushed her out of the way and took a hit meant for her.

It should’ve been her.

Why didn’t he just listen to herandstay out of the way???

“V?”

First thing she saw when snapping back to the real world was the warm hue of candle lights cascaded down brick walls. The aroma of burning sage flooded her lungs, perfumed the air she breathed in a sigh of sweet relief. She was almost tempted to take a seat in one of the empty chairs, poised in the back of the…

Oh no.

It took but a turn of the head to locate the source of the voice. There she was, leaning over on the other side of the counter. Lips parted, eyes sullied, hands curled one over the other. Heavy air weighed down on her shoulders, dropped V’s heart into her stomach, her tongue caught in her throat, eyes dragged down to the floor so she couldn’t make eye contact.

Fuck, this was awkward. Last time she was in the presence of this woman—an innocent bystander in this emotional mess—she’d been wheeled off back to her apartment and shared a pretty deep heart to heart conversation. Now? There was rift in the ground between them. V could easily jump it, but she was paralyzed, scared to take the first step. She feared what would await her on the other side when she crossed over. Tears? Outrage? A sucker punch to the face? V felt like it was all coming, that she deserved this somehow. Misty deserved to take out her frustrations somehow. Regardless what she thought, there was only one way to find out. And now that they were in the same room again, it was time to take the leap.

“…Hey, Misty.” That slightly perplexed expression of hers morphed quickly to mask the tension and replaced it with a smile—warm, nevertheless, but a little forced.

“Is Jackie doing okay?” she inquired, a tilt of her head.

“Fine, fine. He’s just resting.” The back of her hand rubbed over her eyes. “I was headed home to do the same.”

“Hope so. You deserve a break.”

A soft grin crossed V’s lips. “Yeah. Feels like I’ve been taking babysitting jobs for everyone in Night City the last coupla days.”

“…It can’t be easy, can it?”

The question finally urged V to magnetize her attention to Misty’s face. “Beg your pardon?”

“Running around Night City, killing cyberpsychos, stealing valuables, saving people… It’s a lot to keep up with. Dangerous, too.” Misty removed herself from the counter and wandered across the room. She sat back in one of the chairs, legs crossed, hands folded on her lap, gaze far off in the distance. For fuck’s sake, V could almost see her stomach turning into an actual knot just from the sound of her voice cracking. “I don’t know how you’ve handled it up until now.”

Wow. She must’ve been thinking about that kind of thing all day if she were this bent out of shape over it. V exhaled most of the oxygen she’d been holding in and relaxed her stance, arms crossed over her chest. Her attention was drawn to a candle, idly watching its flame flicker and dance about. It was…oddly calming, actually. Of all the times she’d dropped by Misty’s place, how many did she come just to stop and relax? None. That was the problem.

“Because I love it, Misty.” The blonde perked her head up with surprised eyes, only emphasized further by the makeup. “I’m doing something that’s benefitting other people where Trauma Team and the NCPD don’t want to. It pays my bills, connects me with new people, and it gives me something useful I can do with my skillset. This thing I’m doing, that most half-wits couldn’t dream of? It makes me fell alive.”

Silence. Tension wrapped its fingers around V’s neck. She waited for Misty to say something, anything. At this rate, the quiet was more painful than anything she had to say; at least then she had a clear idea what was going on in her head. But closed lips meant a cacophony of intrusive thoughts could run rampant in her own head.

That wry smile returned with a stifled laugh. “Funny… Jackie said the same thing.”

V felt her heart flutter and stared in surprise. “He did?”

A gentle nod. “I didn’t understand why he loved it so much. But hearing the way you talk about it…” She pressed a hand to her forehead, lifting honey tinted bangs. “I get it now. ”

Just from that look, V could see the well’s worth of sadness beneath the surface. She didn’t realize until now how hard this was on them both. All she had the time to focus her mind on the last few weeks was how Misty would react to her when she finally the news about herself and Jackie. But she hadn’t even considered the possibility her favorite fortune telling friend was worried how she would respond to all of this.

V didn’t deserve a friend as compassionate as her.

“Listen, Misty,” she spoke up. “As long as we’re both in this gig, I’ll keep bringing him home alive, alright? He’s not doing this alone. Because I’ll be damned if something happens to him on my watch.”

Misty pulled herself up and approached. Arms reached out, V stiffened up expecting something bad, something like a punch or a slap. But the next thing she knew, they were hugging.

Hugging.

Hands clutched gently at the divots of her upper back, squeezing just a little for reassurance. So what did that mean? Was everything okay between them?

“Take care of each other, V.”

V stared wide-eyed at the wall before her, then down at her shoulder. Blurry; everything was getting blurry. Her eyes stung, nose scrunched, teeth gnashed together to stop the choked sob from escaping her throat. V didn’t waste another second reciprocating the gesture, arms wrapped underneath, chin rested on her shoulder, taking what little time it lasted in stride.

Hands retreated. She took that sentiment as the hint to make her exit, start a new chapter on the road ahead. Things were still shaky—and despite the trails of tears streaming down her face, the smile she bore was genuinely happy again.

“I will.”

•••

[Gooood evening, Night City! This is your man Stan, with the-]

Thatstupid voice… Sleep was a much more welcome option than having to listen to the tv blaring the weekend bullet count or something about election season. Which was worse, she knew not. Nor did she care to know.

Eyes pried open slowly, letting the light leak in so she could gradually adjust rather than going blind. Fan blades spun above her head. Hair was tangled down her back and over her shoulders. The plan was supposed to be going to bed, but with all that happened she just couldn’t bring herself to relocate from the couch. It was already comfy anyways.

“Your choom’s gonna have a panic attack when he wakes up and realizes you’re not there.”

Eyes went wide when she heard that voice—that other stupid voice. Bolting up, V took a look around and spotted the digitized Rockerboy at the other end of the couch with his feet propped up on the table. He seemed…unusually relaxed. He was right, though. Considering the time, Jackie must have been so confused to wake up in Vic’s clinic by his lonesome. Then again, after all she just did to haul him back?

“Vic will fill him in. Besides, he’d understand…” Fingers raked back through her disheveled hair. “He always understands.”

“Understand what, that you used him as a human shield?”

Brow furrowed, she leaned back and rolled her neck with an irritated huff. “Oh, fuck off, Johnny. You and I were both there. We didn’t see what happened until it was too late.”

“V, that man put a collar around his neck and then handed you the leash.”

“Yeah?” She stared deadpan at Johnny’s face. “So what, you’re saying he’s my bitch?”

“Something like that.” Pulling himself up, Johnny leaned his weight on one knee with a snide grin. “He’s thirsty like one, anyways.”

“…It sounds like you’re trying to make this out to be a bad thing, so-”

“Don’t let him go, V.”

When he glanced over, her eyes were wide open and her jaw dropped, like it’d been pulled through a taffy machine. Silver fingers raised to point at her.

“What?”

“Did you forget? I can feel what you feel. And the way you feel about Jackie, fighting through hell and high water to save his ass over and over again, I felt the same way about Alt once upon a time. The difference here is you didn’t fuck it up like I did. You’ve still got a chance to make it work.”

A boot on the couch served as his anchor when he leaned forward. His face was in hers now, dead serious through the cabernet tint of his sunglasses, and he poked his silver hand at her forehead.

“So take my advice seriously for once, and don’t. Fuck. This up.”

V really didn’t know what to say. Johnny had his moments and all, but to see him so passionate about such a personal topic was beyond her comprehension. She angled herself to pull up off the couch, hair pushed back behind her shoulders.

“I won’t,” she nodded, hands ironing down the folds in her shirt. “Not after she gave me her blessing.” It actually summoned a chuckle from her. “God, that’s gonna be a good one. How do I tell-“

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

“…The fuck?”

The front door took a serious pounding from the other side, it sounded like. Tension curled in her gut. V approached with a hand hovering down by her leg, over the strap keeping her gun holstered in place.

“Who’s there?” she hollered.

“Relax, chica! It’s just me. Can you open up?”

Shock coated her eyes when she recognized that voice. The door slid aside. Standing out in the corridor, with a couple bags of food in one hand and the other posed on his hip to keep himself upright, was her patient and once human shield with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Holy fuck! Jackie, what-”

The pain in his chest was hardly any concern—not when he came bearing dinner. “We missed lunch, so I picked something up on the way here. Is sushi good?”

“Get in here!” V exclaimed, exasperated as she took the bags and shut the door behind them. “God, Jackie, why aren’t you lying down?! You shouldn’t be putting any weight on your chest!”

“I-“ He grunted softly. Taking his place on the couch, he leaned back with a hand on one knee and that stupid happy grin on his face. “I’m fine, V. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’mgonna worry about it!” Just looking at her, he could see her blood pressure rising. V set the bags down on the table and planted her ass beside him to take a look. “How long have you been up?”

“Bout an hour. Vic told me what happened. Did you really carry me all the way to the clinic?” No concern on his face whatsoever. In fact, it seemed Jackie was ecstatic his girlfriend had suddenly turned She-Hulk to get him to safety.

She, on the other hand, was still having trouble processing how quickly he bounced back.

“Y-yeah? Well I had to do something. We don’t have Trauma Team memberships, and waiting for help wasn’t an option. If it weren’t for the reinforced tendons, I don’t think I could’ve pulled it off.” She shook her head. “And you’re sure you’re okay???”

“Better than okay! I got ribs of steel, cariño!” Jackie sat up and grabbed the bag on the table, slipping out and stacking the takeout containers on top of each other. “But since you’re so worried, I think I should crash here so you can keep an eye on me, yeah?”

He looked up, and the bewildered expression V bore shifted when she scrunched her brow, palm to her eyes trying to keep from completely bursting into tears.

“V?”

“I uh-” She choked back a laugh, and forced a grin. “I was scared for you, y’know? I mean-“ Once she saw his visible concern, she sighed and leaned back. “I talked to Misty, after I left.”

His shoulders visibly dropped, curling and uncurling fingers around the box in his hands nervously. “What’d she say?”

“…She gave me her blessing. Told us to take care of each other.” V waited for something—shock, fear, concern, anything of those things. But he stared blankly into space for a hot minute. “…Jack?”

Warmth. She saw it in his face, in those tired, battle-worn eyes, and on his lips when they peeled back into a soft smile. Relief. That’s what she made of it.

“I’m glad,” he nodded. “I was worried after we started going out she was gonna hate one or both of our guts. But if she supported you, then I got nothin’ to worry about anymore! ¡Gracias a dios!”

And just like that, the weight of the guilt, the anxiety, the fear, was off both their shoulders.

“C’mon, you gotta eat something.” Jackie popped off the lid and showed her the contents—perfectly wrapped makizushi rolls. “You still like these, right?”

A light snort, and V took it in hand for herself, free hand searching the bottom of the bag for chopsticks which she quickly took in hand. “Of course.” She plopped one in her mouth and dug in. At the rate she was eating, she could’ve set some kind of record.

“Carajo, V. When was the last time you ate?”

“What’s today, Tuesday?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“Monday morning.”

“Fuck’s sake!” Jackie wasted no time sliding her the wasabi and the NiCola can out from the other bag. “What have you been doing all day?”

She stared at him bluntly for a second, shifting eyes from his chest to his face and back again before it registered in his brain.

“Oh.”

“Mhm.” Another gulp, and her third roll was already down. “That, and fighting on and off again with Johnny.”

“That pendejo still bugging you?”

“Nah, not tonight. Wanna hear something funny, though?”

“Sure.”

“He gave me relationship advice.”

Silence.

Then Jackie slapped his knee and burst out laughing. Just the sight of him cackling with his whole body amused her to the point she started, too.

“You-Haha! You can’t be serious!” He wiped a tear away from his eye. “We’re talking about the same Silverhand, right?”

“Yup.”

She picked up a flicker in her peripheral vision. Johnny was leaned back on the other side of the couch, obviouslyunamused.

“Very funny, Johnny’s a bad relationship guru.” He spoke with such dry enthusiasm and a flat brow, gesturing a hand to her compadre. “Motherfucker’s amused by the smallest things, huh.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Jackie chuckled, “he’s an NC legend and all. But he couldn’t give advice to save his ass if he were dangling off the side of Arasaka Tower with his good arm. And I’m not talkin’ ‘bout the silver arm!”

“Alright,that’s it.” Suddenly, Johnny was leaning over Jackie with one mechanical fist clenched tight. “V, pop one of those pills so I can give this muchacho a piece of my mind!”

What, did the big scary man hurt your feelings?

“I’m gonna hurt a lot more than his feelings when I finally get to meet him,” he barked.

It was that little bit of angry energy that got V laughing to the point of tears. After the heartache, the anxiety, the fear and constant shadow of death looming over her the last week, things were finally at ease again; the atmosphere resembled a sense of normalcy compared to when they first started living life in Night City. The only difference? She had two friends by her side, and one became something so much more to her.

She missed this.

•••

a.k.a. “How Jackie and V(idel) Became a Thing” | written by @themaximumpanic

• After Jackie survivedThe Heist,Arasaka retaliated for the theft of the biochip by trashing El Coyote Cojo and subsequently killing Mama Welles in the crossfire. Misty, fearing he’ll die once more seeking revenge, asks Jackie to choose between being a merc or their relationship. He chooses the merc life. Faced with a broken heart, the loss of his madre, and his reputation now tarnished, V is all he has left. …And she still hasn’t told him she only has a few weeks to live.

Life Path:Medic|Genre: Drama, Romance | Word Count:4000+

•••

“She did what?”

“She broke it off, choom.” Icy liquid flooded his mouth, drowning the words in swigs of tequila. Jackie was trying hard to contain himself, but the weight of grief anchored itself on his shoulders. “She left.”

The magnitude of those words sunk like a rock in her stomach. V braced two hands on the counter, fingers grazing the dents in the surface, staring at the empty space ahead of her.

“Holy shit, Jack…”

This was the first time V had seen him out and about after their respective near-death experiences. Except when Jackie emerged from his, she was hoping he’d be…excited? Elated about their first day back in action? Content didn’t even come close. Her poor choom leaned over the bar counter, glass clasped in an iron claw. Dark circles dragged his eyes down, a somber look to his normally cheery expression.

This was it. This was what it looked like to see Jackie’s whole world come crashing down around him. His family, his career, his girl? All gone. Everything he’d worked so hard to achieve had disappeared, practically overnight. But at least he had the remains of a totaled El Coyote Cojo to hide in, and drown his sorrows with bottles on bottles of booze.

V actually considers going clean, watching him waste away.

“FUCK!”

She jumped out of her skin when he slammed the tequila glass on the counter in front of her and leaned over, head in his hands, brow scrunched into a knot, cheeks reddening with the copious amount of alcohol running through his system. Thank god he was a heavyweight. Otherwise the night could have taken a turn for the worse.

Although considering Jackie was going to drink straight from the bottle, they were headed that direction.

“It’s all gone, V… My gig, my girl, mi madre? It’s all gone.And I-“ His voice caught in his throat with a hiccup. “And just when I think I can’t screw it up anymore, I gave you—my best choom—the biggest bounty in all of Night City! Everything I do turns someone into los muertos!”

“Alright, Jack, I think you’ve have enough.” She reached over the counter to snatch it up. He reeled away last second. Her lips pursed as she watched on. “Jackie, give me the bottle.”

“Fuck it, V. What’s the point of stopping now, huh? I’m already at rock bottom. Can’t get any lower than this!” Another swig. Once he got a few more glugs in, Jackie reeled his arm back. With full force he launched the glass constrained across the room, shattering the moment it hit the edge of the pool table. Shards scattered across the floor, drink spilling out over the table surface.

“Jesus, Jack!” she hollered.

Choked sobs answered her. “The fuck am I gonna do, V? I got nothing.”

Shoulders slumped with a heavy sigh. Rounding the counter, V reached up and laid her arm over his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his jacket in case he tried to weasel his way out of it.

“You still got a place to live. Come on, let’s get you home, alri- Ack!”Regrets.So many regrets. The second she let her guard down, Jackie was leaning his weight on her for support and almost took her down to the ground.

Nevertheless, she persevered.

The walk was short, but damn if it didn’t nearly cripple her in the process. The way back to Jackie’s humble abode was a minefield for trips and stumbles, and one actual tumble where V ate concrete. That, and a quick detour to barf all that booze on the wall in a back alley. His mouth must’ve tasted like hot tar and broken dreams… To think his spirit could be crushed was unheard of. It was Jackie, for crying out loud. How in god’s name was she going to fix it?

One strong heave, and the garage door lifted up. V stepped into the dark space, hand cuffed around Jackie’s wrist for dear life. Yanking him in behind her was like trying to walk a dog—a large, lazy, very sad dog. She flicked a light switch, and the room lit up. Trash was scattered about, lining the work benches, the tables, on top of the cabinets and even on the floor just for good measure. Empty bottles were strewn about. The carton where his favorite beer was once stashed had been ripped open and emptied out. How hard had he fallen while she was fighting like hell to survive?

“Alright. Take a seat, Jack.” V ushered him over to the couch. Contrary to the rest of the room, there was a beautiful array of sand arranged on the table in front of it. Misty’s work; it had to be. Jackie wasn’t nearly that meticulous.

Gravity brought him down on the couch with a hard thud while she yanked the garage door shut. He gripped his head, groans the only sounds he could make.

“How’s that headache treatin’ ya?”

A stifled laugh was the first sign of a slightly positive emotion he mustered as he looked around, gauging his surroundings. “I’m not going to answer that after you crawled out of a landfill.”

“Touché.”

His eyes scanned the room. If it were true that a person’s home reflected their personality, he hit the nail on the head.

“…What am I gonna do, V?”

She stared at Jackie with questioning eyes. “Do about…?”

“I dunno. Everything?” Head bowed, Jackie sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “I had it all, and then I lost it. God, why did I think DeShawn was going to be anything but a problem? Motherfucker’s insides are probably all smoked out and shriveled up.”

“Were smoked out.”

He glanced up. “Come again?”

V grinned and took a seat next to him, patting his back. “Dude’s dead, Jackie. My savior popped a cap in his skull when I came to.”

“Well, at least someone was there for you when you needed them.”

A heavy eye roll. Poor guy couldn’t give himself a break, could he. “Come the fuck on-“

“I mean it! If it weren’t for this goddamn hole in my side, I would’ve fought like hell to get you back. Dios mio, I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like…” When Jackie turned his head and locked eyes with V, the emotions torrenting in that head of his became crystal clear. Anger, disappointment, grief… Fear was the most obvious one.

But it was over. The damage was done. Arasaka didn’t give two shits about them, and with the prize of the century embedded in her skull, no one would dare try to step up to them. So… What was he so afraid of?

V gulped and leaned forward, chin in her palm, hand on her thigh. Recounting the dreaded event was disorienting, even now.

“It was cold.” She breathed steam out through her nose. “I woke up in the Badlands, buried under sheets of metal in the middle of the night. There I am crawling like hell to get out, find somebody, anybody. And the whole time, I thought you were dead. So to come out of that coma and find you and Vic standing over me, it-” The crippling anxiety of that loneliness crept back into her mind. Her hand found its way to her shirt and clutched at the fabric over her chest, clawing into it—like it was somehow going to terminate that sharp, stinging pain deep in her lungs. “…I was terrified, Jackie.”

Silence gripped the air. Jackie leaned forward and pulled himself up off the couch.

“So was I.” He placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. “But we made it, didn’t we? Even if we didn’t, we would’ve died doing what we love—living like Night City legends, going out guns blazing, right?”

“Yeah.” V bit her lip.

They did both love it. And granted it almost cost her life, but dammit if they had another chance, she’d do it all over again.

“She’s missing out, Jack.”

“What?”

Rising to her feet, V approached and patted a hand on his shoulder. “If Misty doesn’t understand how being a merc makes you feel alive, then that’s her problem.”

“V-“

“Seriously! She was asking you to give up your livelihood! She can’t- I mean, you can’t just walk away from it, after everything we’ve been through.”

“Yeah, but-“ He hesitated, pursing his lips. “But I can’t stand to see her walk away either.”

“You already did!” Voice raised to echo off the walls. “She made her choice. You made yours. She decided not to support you anymore, so why keep griping about something that’s gone when you could get up and go out to do the thing you chose to hold onto?”

Jackie sneered and ripped his shoulder away, brushing past. “I don’t have to listen to this.” He made it about halfway to the door before she spoke up again.

“So where the fuck else are you gonna go? Huh? Between here and the Coyote I don’t think you got many options.”

“Between your shit and the tequila, I’d choose the tequila!”

“Open your fucking ears, Jackie! If she really loved you, she’d support you no matter what!”

He didn’t look happy at all with what she was spitting. In fact it looked like he was about to punch her just for entertaining the idea. “She’s all I got, V.”

A heavy sting behind her eyes as she spread her arms out in a wide gesture. “Well you’re all I’ve got! At least wait a few weeks until I’m dead to go after her, okay?!”

Eyes went wide. His jaw hung open at a loss for words. Only then did she realize what she’d just said, and mimicked the same face.

He barely opened his mouth to eek out a word. “…What?”

Eyes darted between either side of the garage amid her panic. Surely he’d heard about her situation by now, right? “Vic didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

Oh god. She was gonna have to tell Jackie about the biochip, about the clock hanging over her head, about Johnny. All of it.

“Jackie,” she sighed, “there’s no easy way to say this.”

“Say what?” Panic stirred in those eyes as he turned back to fully face her. “V, what is it?”

“…I’m dying.”

Confusion was the mood of the room. Jackie continued to stare dumbfounded at her until she spoke up again.

“I wish I were joking… But it’s true.” Fingers tapped against her skull. “This chip? It’s a ticking time bomb, Jackie. In exchange for a second chance at life, the construct on it is gonna take over my mind. It’s evicting me from my own fucking body, and there’s no way to stop it from happening.”

He shook his head and refocused. “And you can’t just pull it out?”

“Not unless I want to fry my brain.”

“Carajo…” His face fell. “So you’re fucked, then.”

“Yup.”

Hands anchored on her hips. V stood silent for a second, mulling over the options she had. Sit and comfort a friend? Or convince him to come out of his hidey hole with her and blow off some steam the only way she knew how?

“Listen, sitting around moping over the past isn’t gonna change what happened, Jack.” She tried to put on a brave face, tried to make it seem like this was fine. That everything was fine. “What say you and I see if we can’t pick up a coupla contracts and burn some eddies?”

He wasn’t buying it.

“The fuck’s the point, V?” Routine brought him back to the couch where he sat down and hung his head low.

“I…beg your pardon?”

“Nothing’s gonna change the fact you’ll be dead soon. Why try to go out and change this rotten city when it can’t pay you back or change your fate?”

“Because!” V exclaimed. “I want to at least try and do something meaningful on my way out. We’re almost legends, Jackie. One more push, and-“

“You think this is what it’s like to be a legend?!”

The sheer amplitude of his voice sent shockwaves through her body. Jackie waved an arm to the room.

“Look around you, V! We’re sitting in a dusty garage in the worst neighborhood in Night City! Dreamers live like this. And what has trying to become a legend done besides leading people to jump into their own graves? Which, by the way, we already did! The only reason I’m still alive is ‘cause you pulled me out of mine, and buried yourself in it instead.”

“I…” No words. Truly, V found herself unable to formulate a full sentence. He didn’t really feel this way, did he? That he should’ve died? She could feel her stomach wringing itself out just thinking about it. So how-

“Just go.” She snapped out of her thoughts to see Jackie waving her off. “If you’re just here to make yourself feel better, forget it. It doesn’t matter what we do now. You’ll be dead soon, and I got nothing. Might as well skip to the end, si?”

He reached for the bottle on the makeshift table in front of him. V was half-way turned around, contemplating the idea of leaving—to turn and never look back—but…

“…Fuck that.”

He glanced up. “What?”

“FUCK THAT!”

Sorrow twisted into fury. Teeth gritted, knuckles white, eyes contracted, V swatted her hand out and knocked his drink away. Beer splattered out on the floor when the bottle broke. She didn’t stop to register the alarm on Jackie’s face, not before taking a fistful of his jacket collar and yanking him up to look her in the eye.

“What the fuck are you talking about, ‘It doesn’t matter?’ You think I’m just gonna lie down and wait for the Devil to come and collect my soul like you are right now? That nothing you or I ever do is gonna matter to anyone ever again? Well guess what, Jackie!” A pointed finger poked at his chest as she spat fire. “Everything—and I mean everything that you’ve ever done mattered to me. All of it! Do you have any idea how alone I was until I found you? How many nights I spent trying to forget my trauma? How many people’s blood was on my hands? You were the first one to tell me their deaths weren’t my fault, and that blood should be a symbol of pride for me. To show I was willing to get my hands dirty to finish what others started. Which is exactly why I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world to have someone like you!”

She paused to take it in. Jackie refused to make eye contact, but it seemed he was registering her words at least. So she’d hammer the last nail in the coffin, drive it in deep.

“You’ve got people all around you—people who care about you and want nothing but the best for you. But if you’re just gonna cut off all your lifelines and sit here moping around instead, knowing you’ve got your entire life ahead of you when I don’t? Then I might as well bow out, too!”

Sheer anger masked her face, the waterworks brewing behind those ocean eyes, and she was sure with their proximity Jackie could see it, too. Silence wrapped its fingers her throat, around his. He couldn’t debate her for the life of him without going around in circles.

When he didn’t respond, V released the collar of his jacket and stepped away.

“See you in the major leagues, Jackie…”

Bitter words dripping off her tongue through the cracks in her voice, she spun around on her heels and marched for the garage door. She was crouched down to reach the handle by the time he finally said something.

“V!”

“WHAT?!”

V bolted up, and was greeted instantly with his hands slammed against the steel door on either side of her head. His body blocked her in, towered over her. Proximity shrank to a bare minimum. His face was so close to hers she could feel his frantic breathing, see how small his eyes had contracted and the cold sweat running down over his skin. Like he’d forgotten what it was he wanted to say and stared at her as if she could remind him. The last breath of steam from her lips was the final cue.

Jackie’s lips smashed against hers. V froze, arms raised up half-way, contemplating the idea of pushing him away. She had to. He had a girl already. And she was dying. Why would he ever want to kiss a dead woman walking?

He reeled back to look at her. She was a deer in headlights, paralyzed in the face of panic. He waited for something, anything, some kind of sign, any little signal that he didn’t just fuck up everything they already had.

Thoughts raged in her head. This was wrong. Everything about her being here was wrong. Fuck, the fact they were both still alive was wrong.

…But in her defense, he made the first move.

She shot upward, lips fluid against his, hands reached up to caress the sides of his face, body closing the gap. Jackie gasped in-between kisses. Hands grazed down over the divots in the steel door and found their way to her waist. He felt along the fabric of her clothes, traced down under her jacket, and lifted the edge of her shirt to feel skin on his fingertips as he pulled her in close. The air grew hot. She didn’t know if it was because he was so warm compared to her, or the room itself was. He had to know what was about to go down, right? But just to be sure, she reeled back.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

“No fuckin’ idea.” The smirk he bore said it all. “But I gotta try while we still have time, right?”

He leaned in again, and adjusted his hand. The harsh clang of his bracelets hitting the metal door snapped her out of her trance. Pulling back, V stifled a laugh and grinned.

“Jackie, if we do it on the door all of Heywood’s gonna hear.”

That little spark of joy carried through him—a genuine smile, for the first time in a week.

“Then let’s take it inside.”

“Alright, let me just- Whoa!” The floor disappeared from under her feet, and suddenly she was leaning forward, looking at the concrete under Jackie’s feet. Motherfucker slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Just at the motion, she burst out laughing as he kicked open the door and carried her inside.

Later, that same evening…

“Carajo, V.” Words dissolved into laughter. “You really know how to give a man a run for his money.”

V grinned and rolled her neck, swiping a hand over her shoulder to brush her tangled hair back. Sweat soaked her skin, face beat cherry red, a dazed, lost-in-bliss grin on her lips. After what must’ve felt like hours on that couch, she had to be the first one between them to pull away and stand up. She was bare, struggling for air, trying to catch her breath. And despite her previous concerns, performing the horizontal tango with Jackie went really well. The merc turned her head and glanced toward the kitchen, where her eyes quickly fell on the tequila bottle set out on the counter.

“I need a drink.” were her first words. She ran her hand over her back and ass under the veil of deep blue, feeling the grooves left behind from Jackie’s iron grip, wondering how red the marks were as she couldn’t see for herself. Pacing her way to the counter, V rested against the edge and grabbed the bottle, taking a look around for something she could pour it in.

“Pour me one too, will you?” Footsteps beside her pulled her attention to see Jackie reaching in one of the cabinets where he withdrew two glasses, sliding them across the counter toward her. “I could use a little something to take the edge off.”

“Yeah, you said it.” Booze poured out into its respective containers with a tilt of her hand. She almost couldn’t fill the glass up fast enough before Jackie snatched it up and took a big swig. Placing the bottle back, V lifted her drink up as a little “cheers” gesture, which he gladly reciprocated. Both heads threw back in unison to swig down a shot’s worth and slammed them down at the same time. “Glad I had some time to just forget about everything out there.”

“Glad I could help.” Jackie’s signature grin had changed. He seemed more sheepish than confident, now that she got a good look.

“You feelin’ alright, Jackie?” she pried. Poor guy must’ve taken notice, because the second she said it, he cleared his throat and smoothed his hand back over his hair as he turned away.

“Fine! I’m fine.” Right, because he being as sweaty as he was obviously meant fine. And considering the circumstances?

She decided to bait him.

“Suit yourself,” she nodded. “I’m gonna go rinse off. Gotta try and cool…” The world was a little blurry when she turned around; colors glitched into one another. Did the tequila not agree with her? Or was it…

“Down-“

Oh no.

[RELIC MALFUNCTION DETECTED]

“V?” The alarms in his head went off. “You’re not lookin’ so hot-“

Back arched, knees dropped to the floor, and blood spat out her mouth before V knew what was happening.

“V?!” Oh this was not gonna be easy to explain. The touch of Jackie’s hand on her shivering back was sweet relief for just a second. Then the shockwaves came, and it felt like the weight of the world was pushing her down by the lungs. “What’s wrong? Is it the biochip? …V, say something!”

“I-“ Another hard cough shook the chills out of her. “I’m fine… Just give me a minute.”

Genuine concern flooded his face and heart when she glanced back, hand on her head, other braced against the floor tiling.

“Alright, that’s it. You gotta lie down.”

“Jackie, I said I-“ He didn’t even give her the chance to protest.

An arm laced between her thighs and knees and lifted upward, the other strewn across her back to clutch by the shoulder and keep her tucked close to his chest bridal style. Everything went by in flashes. Next thing V knew, they were heading up the stairs, and the bedroom door was in sight. He kicked his boot against the wooden surface and forced it open so he could get in.

When V heard he’d been going through a rough patch, it proved to be true when laying dreary eyes upon the room. The haphazardly made bed had the sheets ripped so far back they were almost on the floor. The bathroom light was still on. It appeared the toothbrush and other products either lied on the floor or in the sink, and he was too distracted by his world falling apart to clean them up. Beer bottles and glass shards had been tossed in the corner of the room—well, they landed in the corner. It looked more like they’d been originally thrown at the back wall in a drunken rampage. The lamp by the bed was on the floor as well.

It only occurred to her now how badly he’d been affected by the looming shadow of death and destruction. Did that mean she was a source of comfort? As in, he actually wanted to be with her?

Or worse—just a rebound?

Jackie bent down to set her on the bed and sighed. She was still trembling from the takedown, but at least it didn’t knock her out cold.

V wheezed a half-hearted laugh. A pang in his chest poked hard when he heard it. “Jackie, you really didn’t have to do that.”

“Couldn’t just let you pass out on the kitchen floor,” he chuckled. “What kind of host would I be?”

“Host, my ass. I used to live here, remember?”

“Don’t mean I can’t try, right?” Brushing a hand against her face, he curled his thumb and four fingers over her cheek, pulling gently to turn her face to his so he could see. It- …Well, it looked like she was still coming down from the high, but not sick. Thank god for that. Eyes half-lidded, V lifted her own hand up, running it over that which held her face. The grin she sported wasn’t exceedingly ecstatic, more so strained somewhere between satisfied and sad.

“Thanks for taking such good care of me, Jack,” she muttered. “I know things haven’t been great lately, and-“

“V?” She blinked and glanced up. That smile—that heartachingly sweet, pitiful smile—was beaming right down at her. And it made her melt at her core. “Don’t mention it. Just get some rest, alright?”

She nodded, and with a small yawn rolled over onto her other side. The hand on her cheek slipped away. It rested against her back for just a minute. The next thing she heard was the snap of a blanket unfurling, followed by the sheets draping over her figure. Man, he really was trying to be a good host, huh? V didn’t say anything, but she shifted her shoulders and settled in. The lights went out. There were muffled footsteps heading out the door. The last two things she heard were the door creaking shut, followed by his voice.

“Buenos noches, cariño.”

V slept peacefully that night, with a warmth in her heart and a smile on her face.

••• FIN •••