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It was dark outside when V stirred, sprawled on the bed in her megabuilding apartment.
Or as dark as Night City ever got, at least – neon still bleeding through the window, casting blurred streaks of colour across the ceiling. Rain tapped against the glass in a steady rhythm, softening the glare of ads that cluttered the skyline, and muting the light inside.
She was lying on her back, on top of the covers – syn-leather pants twisted awkwardly around her waist and legs, her button-down shirt uncomfortably rumpled. Still fully clothed, her half-asleep brain finally realised.
She’d made it as far as the bed after getting back from the Laguna Bend dam, flopping down heavily after only managing to kick off her boots.
Forcing her eyes open, she peered at the ceiling, slowly processing everything. Yesterday had been a huge day. She'd met up with Judy at an old cabin on the lake’s shore, and they’d gone diving through the now-submerged town where Judy had grown up. The whole trip had been part of an artistic BD experiment Judy was working on – testing out dual scrolling, to see if she could capture both their experiences at once.
When she’d first been invited along, V had asked if it was a date. Judy hadn’t shut her down – just smiled and said they’d have to find out. That had been more than enough to convince V. Hell, she would’ve stood beside Judy to watch paint dry if it counted as a date – or even if it didn’t. Any excuse to spend time with her.
The dive had been a nova experience though – an entire town forgotten at the bottom of the lake. Intimate, too: seeing where kid-Judy had lived, feeling her thoughts and memories, learning more about her, being so close…
The sound of her voice in the rebreather – their conversations the only thing V could hear beneath the surface. Like the world had ceased to exist beyond the two of them.
A buzzing sounded in her ears, cutting through her thoughts with distortion – then a flashing pixelation broke through at the edges of her vision. She groaned. Ugh, here we go. Should’ve stayed asleep.
“And her ass in that wetsuit, don’t forget that,” came the drawl of Johnny Silverhand as he glitched onto the nearby couch, just visible in V’s periphery.
“Fuck you, Johnny.” V’s voice was gravelly with sleep as she raised a middle finger in his direction, eyes still on the ceiling. “Don’t talk about her like that. I mean it.”
Johnny scoffed, that usual needling tone unmistakable. “Your thoughts, not mine. I’m just the narrator, along for the ride.”
She hated hearing him say it like that, but she’d be lying if she claimed she hadn’t noticed at the time. Judy had caught her staring too – and hadn’t seemed to mind one bit. In hindsight, made sense given how the night played out.
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stretched, joints popping one by one. She closed her eyes again, let herself remember the way it felt. Judy’s hands, Judy’s lips, the way she looked at her as they undid each other, again and again. V pressing in close behind her, drawing slow, abstract lines up and down her arm. Judy turning, mouth finding hers again. Slow kisses, becoming deeper.
V couldn’t get enough of her. Sharp mind, stubborn heart. No part of her V didn’t want. No part of her she could stop thinking about.
Not just last night, either. Everything. How gracefully she’d moved through the water during the dive, how warmly she spoke about growing up with her grandparents. How willingly she’d let V into her world.
But then–
V cringed. The dive had ended in a blur of pain and static – the Relic seizing up all her muscles and leaving her unconscious at the bottom of the lake. She’d come to on the dock, Judy’s face stricken with worry as she tried desperately to revive her.
Now, lying on her bed, V dragged a hand down her face like she could scrub the memory away.
“You’re welcome for that, by the way,” Johnny said, hearing her thoughts. “Can’t believe I had to jump into that claustrophobic hellhole to help your output drag your soggy ass onto the dock. Told you it’d end badly the minute we got there.”
Output. V shook her head slightly. The term felt casual, but also kind of possessive – not quite her style. But the idea of being exclusive, seeing more of each other… yeah, she liked that. And Judy trusting her enough to share access to her apartment, so they could see more of each other...
Johnny let out a long exhale. “Shame you delta’d like you’d left the fuckin’ iron on.”
He laughed quietly, somewhere between amusement and disbelief. “She was sittin’ there in her damn underwear, and you wanted to be somewhere else. Killer instincts, V. Real smooth.”
“Fuck you.” Her go-to line with Johnny today, apparently. But his words stung, because he wasn’t wrong. Well, he was – sort of. It wasn’t that she wanted to be anywhere else. Just… caught off guard by Judy’s gesture.
People didn’t usually want nomads anywhere near them, let alone in their living room unsupervised.
Judy had already done that once too – left V sleeping on her couch after the malfunction the other day. Trusted her.
But this felt different. It wasn’t just swing by if you’re near – it was come share my space.
It was exactly what she wanted to hear from Judy – something she’d let herself imagine a few times. Probably a lot of times, if anyone asked Panam. But it also reminded her it would only be short-term. That she’d be putting Judy through a lot. Didn’t want to, but the biochip in her head had the final say.
So she left, like a gonk. But not before she stood there awkwardly, like a complete gonk. Had to practically drag her own feet to her motorcycle, but still forced herself to go.
“Wait. You helped Judy?” She turned her head and squinted at Johnny, as her brain finally caught up to what he’d actually said earlier. Judy had mentioned she didn’t really know how she’d hauled V out of the dam, and V hadn’t pressed either. Didn't want to make her think about it any more than she’d had to.
Johnny was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped loosely in front, sunglasses on as usual. The bulletproof vest was absent, his Samurai tank top on full display.
“Fuck yes, I did.” He shook his head like a disappointed parent. “Lettin’ you sleep with the fishes didn’t feel like the best tactic to take down 'Saka.”
V’s brow furrowed, puzzled. “Said she didn’t remember. Figured she’d remember you sayin’ hello.”
Johnny tapped a finger to his temple. “Quite the collection of quickhacks sittin’ in your head.” He let his hand drop, then shrugged. “Figured a memory wipe was better than her seein’ you climb outta the water like a reanimated corpse.”
V’s eyes widened as Johnny went on. “But it can be our little secret. Can let her take all the credit, let her think she’s some kind of Mox superhero. ‘BD Girl’ to the rescue.”
V just stared for a long moment, stunned.
“You– What–” She struggled to find the words, outrage and disbelief finally driving them out. “Sayin’ you fuckin’ quickhacked Judy? That I quickhacked Judy?”
She sat up halfway, like she’d taken a punch to the gut. Pictured Judy kneeling on the dock, her face blank. Part of her memory just… gone. Forever.
Flopping back down with a long, exasperated groan, she stared at the ceiling once more. She was equipped with dangerous combat quickhacks. Lethal ones. Anything could’ve happened. She couldn’t believe Johnny had messed with her girlfriend’s head like that.
Girlfriend. She inhaled sharply. The outrage gave way to a blooming warmth, catching her off guard with how easily the word came to mind.
“Your thoughts, not mine,” Johnny teased from the couch, a grin on his face. Didn’t matter that V couldn’t see it, she knew it was the shit-eating kind.
Not the best way to start a new relationship. But… if Johnny hadn’t taken over, she might not’ve been around to start anything. And she had no idea how the night might’ve gone if Judy had seen him behind the wheel.
V swallowed. She should tell Judy about the quickhack – what Johnny did. What she did, technically. Her cyberdeck, after all.
But she had no idea what she’d even say.
“Hey, remember when you hauled my deadweight body up onto the dock? No, of course you don’t, because Johnny used my deck to wipe your memory.”
Yeah. That’d go down great.
She’d tell her. She would. Just… not yet.
V closed her eyes. Her voice came out low. “Thanks, Johnny. For lookin’ out for me, helpin’ me. Helpin’ Jude.”
She opened them again, turned her head to face him. “But promise me you won’t do that to her again.”
“Deal,” he said, shifting his clasped hands, turning his palms up slightly – a half-assed gesture of acceptance. “Long as you promise not to take us underwater again.”
V’s thoughts swirled through the rest of their time at the cabin – Judy’s sensations still echoing through her, the ache of grief and guilt that she’d tried to keep hidden before severing their link. V had felt all of it. Then Judy’s need to set it aside, make it just about the two of them, just for a while – and their kiss…
“So… that means you were there?” V asked, her voice barely above a whisper now. Her breath quickened along with her pulse, and a wave of nausea crept in as she realised she hadn’t swallowed a blocker before Judy took her hand and led her to the bedroom…
Oh, fuck.
She knew the blockers didn’t get rid of Johnny entirely – that he was always there, somewhere. But they helped her pretend he wasn’t. Let her believe the space in her head was hers again. That the moments she’d had with Judy were just hers.
Her stomach turned over completely. Judy had opened up to her, trusted her, fucked her like it meant something – and it had. It was never just sex, not for one second. To V, it meant everything.
But she’d let Johnny stay.
She stared at him in disgust – but knew she was aiming it at the wrong person. Should’ve been looking in a fucking mirror.
Johnny leaned back on the couch, smugness written all over his face – obvious, even with the sunglasses hiding his eyes. He draped one arm along the back of the couch cushion, idly scratching his crotch with the other, and said… absolutely nothing.
She tried to remember if there’d been any flicker, any hint that he was still there. A glitch, a distortion, even just a shadow in the back of her mind.
But all she remembered was Judy. All she was focused on was Judy. Maybe she’d been too far gone to notice.
Or maybe she hadn’t wanted to.
Still lying flat on her back, V’s stomach churned and a cold sweat prickled at her skin. “Fuck, Johnny. I have to tell her.” She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes and groaned, like she could shut out both Johnny and the thoughts.
“How the fuck am I s’posed to tell her I let you stick around – and fuckin’ watch?” she said, arms flopping back down to the mattress. Fuck. This was way worse than the quickhack, and that was already plenty bad enough.
“Relax, V,” Johnny finally cut in. “Watchin’ you melt down? Shit, I’m havin’ a blast. But feelin’ you about to puke? Nah, not into that so much.”
He stretched his legs out, boots crossed at the ankle and propped up on the coffee table. “I didn’t stay. Jesus. Give me some credit.”
V rolled slowly onto her side, facing Johnny. She tucked her arms in under her chin, her voice small. “You serious?”
“Trust me,” he said, crossing his arms and glitching slightly. “Girl-on-girl usually ticks my boxes, but that? Woulda felt like I was watchin’ my kid sister fumble her way into some doll’s panties.”
“So yeah, I delta’d. Couldn’t get away quick enough – though wasn’t expectin’ it’d take the whole night.”
He shook his head, huffing out an incredulous laugh. “Chick could probably score any Night City ass she wanted... and she chooses you.”
He lowered his boots to the floor, then slid his sunglasses off slowly – avoiding V’s eyes. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs again.
“‘Sides,” he continued, his voice dipping for a moment, “never thought I’d envy anyone ever again in this shithole city. But you two? How she looked at you like…” He waved his hand. “Like that.”
He stared at something beyond the rain-streaked window. “Was your moment... Her moment. Wasn’t meant for ghosts.”
V just looked at him – really looked. She had no words for how far they’d come – from a bullet in her skull and Johnny in her head to… whatever this was. Friends, sort of. Siblings, maybe. Some kind of family, for better or worse.
Wasn’t that long ago she’d woken up in this same apartment with him trying to take control, slamming her head into the window, telling her to swallow a bullet. And now here he was, making sure Judy never saw the worst of her. Being real with her. Like he actually gave a damn.
He was still erasing her, sure. But these days, he didn’t seem so okay with it. Maybe this was closer to what Robert Linder – the real Johnny – was actually like.
Or maybe she was changing him too.
He turned back to her, all the softness gone from his voice. “Felt all of it later though, delayed reaction.” He let out a low whistle, nodding his head in approval. “Nice work, V.”
Nope. Definitely still all Johnny.
“What– Fuck you!” V reached blindly behind her and grabbed a pillow, launching it at him. It passed harmlessly through him and hit the back of the couch.
“Joking!” he raised his hands in surrender. “Joking. Told you – woulda been like watching my sister. Really not my thing.”
He looked down as he fidgeted with his sunglasses, still held between his fingers. Anywhere but at V.
“But what I did feel… what you feel for her? And the way she looks at you? We really don’t have time for bubble baths and long walks on the beach, but for now…”
He leaned back, sliding his sunglasses back into place, then looked directly at V one last time, before artifacting into static and disappearing completely.
“Don’t fuck this up.”
V lay on her side in the low light, drawing her legs up and curling into a ball. Her heart thudded, and the more she tried to make sense of it, the less her brain cooperated.
It was insane, even by Night City’s standards. The half-century-old tech in her head – a long-dead rockerboy slowly killing her – had just told her he wouldn’t get in the way. That it was okay.
Okay to want this. To want her.
Her holo pinged – one unread message from Judy Alvarez. She couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her face.
“Not plannin’ to.”