#ch Jackie the ripper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

unluckyopossum · 3 years

Text

I Need A Place I Can Rest- CH 2

Viktor Vector x Fem!V

Vik wants to fix things for V more than anything. V just needs somewhere to feel safe.

This chapter romance is acquired by the two idiots who struggle to appropriately discuss feelings.

Read on AO3

A jarring electronic ding broke the silence in the cramped elevator lobby. Vik had been waiting, shuffling back and forth anxiously, for what felt like an eternity. Desperately hoping he was being led to V and not a pointless chase by his guide. His only company was the small hairless cat sitting patiently by his feet, occasionally looking up at him in a way that made Vik feel the cat knew more about his situation than even he did.

The lift doors finally creaked open and the ripper darted inside slamming the roof button as soon as it lit up, the doors closing slowly again behind him. As the elevator began it's achingly slow ascent he glanced down, surprised to see the cat again. He hadn't even noticed it come in, or move at all for that matter. Maybe the little guy was just as worried about V as he was, V always being one to give the alley cat a scratch and a snack. As he bent down to give his little helper a scratch on the head, he realized he hadn't even taken off his exo-glove in his rush. Taking a moment to finally pay attention to what he was wearing he felt he looked a little disheveled. Exo glove on, shirt loose from where v had grabbed it, sunglasses on in the dark; But V had seen him like that plenty of times, and there was no time to feel self conscious now. No time to worry about how V would feel about an old man confessing to her. An old washed up legend no one even remembered. The cat mowed again sounding almost stern. “Right, now or never, nothing to lose” he said aloud, clearly only for him .

Another ding sounded and the elevator groaned to a halt, shuddering slightly. The tightness in his chest and urgency with which he scaled the last flight of stairs to the open rooftop felt like his old boxing days. Entering the ring for a fight he wasn't prepared to win, but he hadn't backed down from any of those fights either. V was higher stakes than any of those matches had ever been, more important to him than his pride, that was for sure. Rounding the corner to Misty's special retreat he heard a familiar voice, but an unfamiliar sound coming from it.

A soft whimpering fluttered through the air, barely audible over the street noise below the building. Vik was halted in his tracks by the scene in front of him as he started to exit the stairwell. V sat in one of the red plastic porch chairs Misty had set up, staring at the roof edge in front of her, lips moving and occasionally gesturing to empty air. Red neon reflected off the tracks of moisture in lines down her cheeks. She hung her head, back hunching and shaking as the sounds of a few sobs escaping her lips. Before Vik was able to move forward her head lifted back up out of her hands and she looked back at the empty space at the edge of the railing.

" God I'm so fucking stupid Johnny, what if he hates me now, or thinks I'm dumb, and a waste of his time. Just some stupid gonk brained kid." her voice was shaky in a way he had never heard before. Even with all the injuries and pain she had shown up in at his clinic, her voice had always stayed steady. Even after the news of the relic… losing Jackie... he hadn't ever seen the merc cry.

" I know, I know, 'just grow a pair V, if not now when.'" she says in a deeper almost mocking tone.

" Well there's no way he is interested in me Johnny, that's why" an exasperated sigh escaped her, a frequent occurrence in her conversations with Silverhand.

" Well I at least wanted to be his friend for the little time I have left you ass, and I blew that too" between each sentence a pause hung that Vik could only assume was Silverhand’s response. Her voice seemed to be rising slowly as the conversation moved forward and the ripper didn't know if it was his place to interrupt them.

" Not everyone thinks like you Johnny, that only works in BDs and I highly doubt Vik would be into something like that"

Like what? … whatever the rocker was telling her he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but couldn't help but be curious.

" Look Johnny, you can tell me not to care what he thinks as much as you want but I can't help it, you know as well as I do how I feel about him and... fuck I just don't want him being disappointed in me "

Finally seeing a place to step in Vik stepped out from the stairwell overhang walking towards V, trying to convey confidence with his gait.

"Could never be disappointed in you sweetheart" he passed by the empty chair next to V, instead kneeling in front of the merc. Obscuring her view of Johnny if he had judged his location right, hoping to have her focus solely on himself. She sat lips just slightly parted, eyes wide in surprise ,and a startled sputter all she managed to respond with. Vik pushed his shades up on his head, wanting to see her without anything getting in the way.

" V your the strongest woman I have ever known, how do you think I could be disappointed in you" he smiled up at her, green eyes shining so bright she could almost see her reflection in them. His gloved hand came up to her knee giving her a gentle squeeze, one that could normally be taken as supportive or just for comfort if he had moved his hand after. But he didn't, he left it firmly in place, the skin under it felt surprisingly warm for the cool night city evening.

“Scared? now that I could be… not that it’s easy for me to say sweetheart. I don’t want to lose you V, and I didn’t want to put more weight on your shoulders by making you worry about my feelings.” his bare hand reached up to wipe the streaks of tears off her cheeks. It was hard to tell with only neon illuminating her but he thought they were a bit more flushed than they had been.

“Look V you clearly know I’m no good at this, and I’m real sorry about that. I’m going to do my best though and try not to fuck this up.

“ Vik what are you” She stuttered out trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening. Still stunned that the ripper had come after her at all after she had thrown what she considered to be a childish tantrum in the clinic.

“ First I need to apologize V. I know I was mad about Silverhand, maybe even jealous, but I didn’t need to take that out on you.”

Jealous… she caught onto that word, latched on even. She couldn’t quite grasp what Vik could possibly be jealous of Johnny for, the gonk was dead and stuck inside her head with a terrible personality. She didn’t even consider that it could be all the time Johnny got to spend with her, the quiet moments at night, even waking up and feeding the cat together.

“Not being able to fix this, well it kills me V. I just want to protect you, keep you safe and not being able to do that is harder than I ever could have thought. I thought not saying anything would be part of protecting you, making your life a little more simple when things were goin crazy. Looks like I was wrong though and I should have told you how I feel a while ago.”

A pained expression came over her face as it crumpled up with a loud sniffle from her. “Vik… I have wanted to say something for so long, but you shouldn’t… you should want to be with me.”

“V why, I know it’s not my strong suit but I want to listen. I know the two of us have had a hard time speakin about these things but now sure seems like the time” He had given her knee another squeeze and placed his free hand on her forearm resting in her lap. Partially because he just wanted to touch her, but also due to the look of cornered prey she had as the concept of having to share her feelings and be vulnerable for once. He hoped the touch would be some comfort and connect them in a way. That squeeze seemed to be the only thing needed to break down the floodgates as tears began to slowly run down her cheeks again as words started to tumble out of her mouth with barely a breath in between.

“ Vik we both know I’m basically living on borrowed time with my own body as a death bed, stuck in my own head as I lose myself, even though Johnny wants out. He’s the only one I can even talk to about all this because when I have tried to bring it up I can't make myself speak. I’m so scared of pushing you away Vik, so scared of telling you too much and you deciding you can’t be around me. Because who would want to be with someone who might be Johnny Silverhand at any moment. I’m so scared to love you Vik but it’s way too late for that, I want you so much, and it makes my heart hurt constantly because I try to keep away from you, which you know doesn’t last any time at all. Even in the worst times I have when all I can see is my own doom, I'm thinking about you Viktor Vector, and it's just not fair of me to put this on you. It’s fucked but I just want to spend the little time I have with you” She finished with another loud sniffle having to take time to catch her breath.

Vik took the pause as the perfect opportunity to stand and lean down to wrap his arms around the smaller woman. His impressive size may not have been as useful for his ripper work as it was for boxing, but her frame being completely enveloped in his arms made her immediately lose some of the tension she had in her. That he thought was more important than anything else.

“V you aren’t putting anything on me I don’t want, wish I had realized we felt the same way ages ago. I think I’m old enough to decide if it’s worth it to be together too, and for me it is V. It’s going to take way more than the relic to keep me from being into you V, but I’ve known that for a long time.”

He stepped back giving her a little space as he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed to admit how long he had wanted her and not said a word.

“ We’re going to figure this out V so you better count on that ‘little time you have left’ being a lot longer than you think.” A familiar smirk spread on his lips “ but if you’ll have this old man I’d spend every second with you that I can”

That finally got a smile to lift her wet cheeks as she stood to meet him, throwing her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. He head buried in his chest momentarily before looking up into his eyes, caught by them again, a frequent occurrence for her.

“ Vik you do know you aren’t even that old right? I mean just look at Johnny and Rouge, you don’t even want to know what Johnny tried to get up to with her… oh that was supposed to be private apparently.” Vik let out a deep chuckle, his hands moving into place on her hips, fingertips idly playing with the edge of her pants.

“ So Vik, even if I’m right and I don’t have much time left… would you spend it with me?”

“You don't even have to ask sweetheart, you know I will, and I’ll be here to listen even on the worst days”

“ you do know Johnny is gonna be with us every step of the way until we get this sorted right? Well of course you know.... But is that okay?”

“ Well maybe he could give us a bit of private time” He said with another smirk as she blushed furiously” V, dealing with Silverhand is a very small price to pay for being with you”

“ He said it should be an added bonus.” she giggled and smiled at him, the blush still lingering on her cheeks '' Johnny promised he would figure out a way to fix me so you can keep patching my dumbass up forever” the widest smile graced his face since he had found her, the idea of dealing with V forever was much more appealing than she could know.

” Fine, I'm holding you both to that sweetheart. Though as your ripper i could recommend being a bit more careful in your next fight.” The deep rumble of his laugh shook through his chest with her head still resting gently on it.

A tug at the back of Vik’s neck pulled his head down slightly as V stretched up to reach him. Her lips brushed his so lightly it took him a moment to register the kiss. Once it fully clicked a soft groan escaped his lips and his fingers tightened holding her waist firm and he met her lips once more. This time he met her lips passionately, firmly pressing their lips together and pulling her hips towards him so their bodies were flush against each other.

A meow at their feet broke them apart to look, both panting and flushed. The cat looked impatiently up at V clearly wanting something from her, as she shuffled her feet feeling suddenly rather embarrassed for initiating the kiss as reciprocated as it was.

“ Shit Vik, I gotta feed Nibbles, and I’m still covered in blood. I should probably head home for the night… feed this one on the way out.”

She stepped back, having to look away from him now or she didn’t think she would be getting off that roof tonight. She was clearly about to make a move to leave when Vik caught her wrist.

“ dinner tomorrow” he said, still sounding almost out of breath.

“What?”

“Let me make you dinner tomorrow, like you know… an actual date”

A grin popped onto V’s face immediately, never thinking those were words she would get to hear the Viktor Vector say to her. Words she had wanted to hear so badly.

“Deal, my place after you close up” She leaned up once more giving him another quick kiss before practically skipping to the elevator, cat on her heels. She was practically unrecognizable as the woman he had watched sobbing not much earlier, her mood clearly turned completely around.

Vik sunk down into the plastic chair letting out an exhausted sigh, still stunned at everything that had just happened. He tried to wrap his head around V actually being into him and trying to calm down from how flustered V had made him with their kiss, glad she hadn’t seemed to pick up on it.

The fingers of both hands rubbing his, he had suggested making dinner for V but definitely had blurted it out before really coming up with a plan. Figuring out what to make was his first order of business as he got up to head home and begin his recipe research. Next would be what to wear, and that would require a consultation from Misty. He had almost forgotten about her, she would be overjoyed after pushing him to say something to V for months, probably even more so when he told her the rooftop retreat had been the spot where the tell finally happened. The elevator dinged to let him know it was time to head back down to the streets and he stepped in, happy to be going home for the first time in a long while. In fact, he realized he hadn’t been this happy in longer than he could remember, finally feeling optimistic about what was to come because him and V would be facing it together.

#Oh shit I finished another chapter #I'm still not sure this is any good #and I spent waaaayyy less time editing #oh well fuck it #cyberpunk 2077 #fem!v #female v #viktor vector #viktor vector x v

24 notes · View notes

unluckyopossum · 3 years

Link

I Need A Place I can Rest- CH 1

Viktor Vector x Fem!V

Vik wants to fix things for V more than anything. V just needs somewhere to feel safe.

Read on AO3

The sun had long since set, the moon now rising steadily over Night City as the constant hum of the streets above the small clinic became more pervasive. Snippets of conversations and raucous shouts from Night City denizens filtering through the cracks and crevices of the old building. The cramped streets, and shadowed alleyways filling with increasing numbers of bodies going to the closest club, BD lounge, or love hotel. The daylight that filtered down the stairs into the dark clinic had been replaced by the neon glow of signs and adverts from above. It was well past time for any clients to drop by, other than a potential emergency, but there were 24hr joints for those. The esoterica was dim and Misty was likely back to her apartment by now, preferring to leave before the streets became so busy.

Vik sat at his desk finishing up the day's paperwork and idly tinkering with his exo-glove. A habit more than a hobby at this point, since there was only so much that could be done for the gloves precision at a certain point. He had started taking his time closing up in the evenings, not because he was behind with his work, or wanted a moment of quiet time for himself after a busy day. Instead, for the small hope that a certain little merc might come and fling open the gates. V had started coming by the little clinic in the evenings frequently, shortly after they first met, and the addition of the relic to her person had only increased her visits. Vik relished in any time he was able to spend close to V, but the ripper in him hated what caused the encounters. The merc always seemed to be struggling with a new relic malfunction or scrape from one of her increasingly dangerous missions. From what little she had told him, the search for answers and how to remove the relic had her treading dangerous waters. Though it seemed even the gigs from fixers and ncpd hustles had been getting her into his clinic several times a week. Most of those visits just involved a quick bandage or cleaning a scrape; first aid she was more than capable of doing for herself now that he thought about it. The older ripper didn't think too long about it, not wanting to give himself any false hope that these visits were more to see him than to receive medical attention.

Most of the time he felt helpless before V. Unable to save her from what the relic was doing to her, unable to find someone who could, and unable to express his feelings to her. So he instead had to trust the merc to find the answers herself, and pretend to be busy at the clinic late into the night on the off chance he could do the smallest thing to help her, trying to fight back the helpless feeling of not being able to fix this. Helplessness was not a feeling he managed well, and certainly not when it came to her. If he thought about it too much -like he did many nights- a deep feeling of self loathing would creep up for not being able to help one of the few people he considers close to him. If anyone should be helping her it should be him ...right? He should be able to keep her from dying like Jackie.

He wasn't one to share his feelings but on the rare occasion Misty had caught him in one of these spirals she had given him one of her knowing looks and reminded him that having supportive friends and somewhere safe to go was helping V, a lot. She didn't neglect to add that V did seem to run right to him when things went wrong, so he was clearly doing something right.

At the time it had made his heart feel like it would beat out of his chest as he tried to remind himself that of course she would see her ripper first. It wasn't like she was going to see Vik specifically or anything, he was just her ripper. Though that wouldn't explain all the times she has visited Misty to talk about some new tarot mural and always came down to see him. Often bringing him a coffee exactly as he would order without him ever asking for one first.

He shook his head letting the thought roll off of him, breaking out of his daydream with a long deep sigh.

Not that he hadn't been paying attention to her since Jackie first introduced then, but he found himself getting stuck thinking about her more and more often. While Jackie was alive he told himself he was just thinking of her as a new choom. One who always made him laugh and could talk him into silly plans even Jack couldn't. A friend who he worried about on missions late at night and whose eyes held light in a way he had never seen even with the most advanced optics. One who probably didn't think of him as anything more than that. He had realized that he felt more than that when losing V became a reality, and he spent more time pushing those thoughts aside than he would admit... even to himself.

Finally settling down his tools he ran a large hand through his hair, wincing towards the back of his head reminding himself that his chance at something more with her was likely long past for the aging ripper. Staying close friends and making sure to support her as she tried to survive was more than he could ask for.

Before his thoughts began to spiral again he checked his monitor a final time. The corner of the screen let him know he had been lost in thought longer than he expected. V knew he was normally long gone by now. There was no point in him hanging around any longer if she wouldn't be dropping by, and he had long since passed any excuse that he was there to do paper work.

He rose to his feet slowly resigning himself to locking up and leaving for the day. His apartment was close by, but the idea of returning to an empty home wasn't an appealing one tonight. Normally he wouldn't mind the quiet time alone at home after a long day; to have a drink and decompress. Yet tonight being left alone with his thoughts the way they had been going was daunting.

Bending back down to the desk he roughly snatched the keys off the surface to lock up the gate, turning to leave. It would have been clear to anyone watching his disappointment with the evening by the way his broad shoulders drooped as he made his way to the clinic exit. Heavy boots dragging across the floor, exhaustion more present in his gait than the normal reserved swagger he carried himself with. Reaching for the gates he halted in his tracks, his heart skipping, and a panicked weight formed in his stomach.

The scuffed toe of a familiar pair of boots was just visible through the gaps in the gate grating. The leather barely peeking from the corner by the stairs leading to the alley above. Panic fully set in as Vik took a breath and time began to slowly move for him again, pushing him into action. He flung the gates open with more force than he felt he ever had before, and as he whipped around the corner was confronted with V's still form.

Haphazardly slumped against the wall, her eyes were closed but the rise and fall off her chest was all Vik needed to breathe a sigh of relief. Her breathing was steady and deep letting him know that if she was in danger it wasn't immediate. Unconscious was a world better than what his first reaction had been, unconscious he would work with. A quick glance over showed one of her mantis blades stuck extended, metal twisted and warped where it connected to her arm. Her hands and forearms were splashed with drying blood, hers or anthers he couldn't be sure. Though based on the burgundy tint covering the entirety of her blade he could tell at least most of it wasn't from V. Kneeling next to her he placed a hand on her shoulder, and with no response, called out her name softly.

"V? Can you hear me sweetheart?... V? Valerie?" He tried at last.

Her full name was known to wake her after even the most degenerate nights out with Panam.

No response.

In a flurry he popped back in the clinic grabbing a tarp to cover the exposed blade. Neither of them would be happy if one of the two was injured because he was rushing. Kneeling down he wrapped the blade securely and slipped one powerful arm under her knees, the other under her back. Lifting her off the ground as gently as possible the thought of how light she felt in his arms flooded through his mind for a short second before being cast aside by the hammering dread of what might have happened. As he turned to take her into the clinic she finally began to rouse. Looking up into his sharp green eyes barely visible over his shades she gave a weak smile.

"guess I didn't make it in the door huh"

she reached up her good arm, shaking slightly, and placed it gently on his cheek.

"yep not dreaming, sorry Vik" she kept speaking before he could even ask what for.

"' S’okay though, not my blood. Blade got messed up, but I'm fine" She mumbled and squeezed her eyes shut as Vik set her down in his procedure chair.

"V?"

"Sorry… it's just the relic, acted up real bad on my way over, that's why"

She gestured loosely towards the gate. A frown made its way across Viks face before he could control it. The relic, an ever present sore spot for him, a man he has never met slowly taking V away.

"I know what you're thinking Vik, but really, I'm alright... it's already passing"

She tried to comfort him, giving his forearm a delicate touch as he powered up the screens by the table, letting the touch linger as long as she could.

" Is it getting worse v, you taking the blockers?" A sheepish half smile creeps to her lips.

'' Well, I'm not taking them regularly..."

Which he knows means never.

" We just have a lot to do, and having him around is really helpful Vik"

“How much is he really helping sweetheart, he's the one killing you” A hint of malice laced the rippers words.

V’s face crinkled as she looked at the far side of the clinic, as if having a conversation with someone he couldn't see. Vik realized it was the dead rocker, he could help but be irritated that Silverhand was in his clinic, not that he had any say in the matter.

“It's not like he wants to” V said barely above a whisper.

”Wants what V?” He asked moving to unwrap her blade, and address the reason she was in his clinic in the first place.

“ For me to die, said he would trade in a heartbeat... well not that he has one anymore, other than mine” she shifted in the seat looking uncomfortable as if she didn't want to disappoint either of them with her response.

She had to know how Vik felt about Johnny, it wasn't like he could hide the disdain in his voice when the parasitic rocker was brought up. Johnny was her friend now, and while they gave each other shit all the time she didn’t want Johnny to think she blamed him. She also didn’t want Vik to be disappointed in her for befriending the engram slowly killing her. V didn’t give a shit what most people in Night City thought of her but Vik was on the short list of people whose opinions mattered most. Higher on that list than she was willing to admit, and higher than Vik could know. Vik sighed, thumb and forefinger rubbing across his brow drooping his head.

“ I know you don't like him Vik, but he helped get me to you” The ripper peaked back up at her eyebrow slightly raised.

“ I know V, hard to separate him from what he’s doin to you though, don’t want to lose someone else to the relic, especially not you”.

He hadn’t meant to remind her of Jackie but he couldn't help but think of him, dead in his clinic. Trying to clean up his best friend for his family when arasaka ripped him away. Their relic threatening to rip V away from him in a way that felt so similar. It was hard to admit but losing V terrified him more than even losing Jackie, the terror ever growing the more she wormed her way into his heart.

She had started to frown, he realized, probably thinking about Jackie. He worried that he had made what she was going through even worse, he had hurt her.

“ Sorry V, shouldn't have brought it up, tell me about your arm, what happened.” He desperately tried to change the subject. He wasn’t trying to make her feel guilty but seemed to be saying all the wrong things.

“ Ah... nah Vik, you didn't do anything wrong, didn't mean to worry you… don’t need to waste your time thinkin bout me.” But he always thought about her, worry or not.

She lifted the arm with the damaged blade shifting it inspecting the warped metal.

”This though, cyber psycho. Not the usual fair though. None of them have been like her so far, and you know I have butted heads a bunch of these guys so far.” She paused slightly, eyebrows furrowing ” Some maelstrom ritual on this girl, must not have gone well since she went psycho and all. Spooked me though, looked like a ghost or something. So she caught me off guard hence...” she flapped her arm in the air, the blade creaking in protest.

” She really did spook me for a second though Vik, I've seen a lot but that was a first.” the ripper finished gathering his tools with a chuckle settling down on his stool by her arm to get to work.

” Can’t imagine you being bothered by much out there V, quick pinch” before she knew it he had done a ring block on her arm to get to work.

” Yeah... I guess it wasn’t so much the ritual, or the dead malstromers, that's pretty much my everyday. I guess I doubted what was real for a second. Hit a bit too close to home ya know. Guess that was never something I had to think about until recently and now… well. You know.” Silence hung in the air, only the clicking of tools and metallic creaking breaking it.

Vik wasn’t sure how to respond, to him V was still V. The only person who could brighten any day for him, who he couldn't stay mad at no matter how much trouble she brought through his door, and the person who made him feel like his heart would stop when she looked up at him. It wasn't just her though he knew, now when she clung to his arm trying to talk him into something he wouldn't want to do, Johnny was right there with her; And one day soon it might not be her at all. Johnny could take over whether he even wanted that, and Vik may never see or even hear from her again. Her reality was constantly in jeopardy and that was what frightened them both. Vik didn’t want to wallow in those feelings though, thinking of losing V made him feel like a nail was being hammered into his chest right by his heart, an oddly motivating feeling.

” V, you’re you... the same V Jackie introduced me to. You may not see it because you have to listen to Silverhand all the time, but those of us who know you, we can see it. You're still the same you.” he squeezed her hand gently before snapping a piece of blade back in place.

The merc blushed lightly looking down uncharacteristically shy, squeezing his hand back clumsily due to the numbness from the anesthetic. Her eyes darted up to his where he was already staring at her, eyes locking with each other. With a loud click the mantis blade retracted back into place pulling them both back to reality.

” Alright sweetheart I’m all finished with ya, should be back in working order.” the ripper started to stand leaving her side to return his tools.

Her hand darted out fingers tangling in the edge of his loosely tucked shirt.

”Vik… I…” she trailed off keeping a stiff grip on his shirt as he set the tools on the table by the chair.

”It's getting worse Vik... and well, I’m not sure I have enough time anymore… to fix this” he didn't move away from her grip but a hand returned to rub his forehead the ripper looking almost frustrated.

“V you need to stop giving that thing control, I told you that would make things move faster” her voice raised, she had wanted to be comforted not lectured.

”He isn't a thing Vik you know that, he’s my friend, and it impacts both of us”

“V he isn’t even a person, just an engram of a long dead Rockstar”

“I get it Vik, I fucking do, I don't want to die that’s the point... but I’m fucking scared and at least he is there when I’m alone” The ripper continued rubbing his forehead and let out a low exasperated sigh.

“V for fuckssake you know I'm not good at stuff like this” He wanted to comfort her and hold her tight more than anything, but the words he wanted never seemed to be within his grasp.

“Well fucking aware Vik, shouldn’t have expected anything more form you” … shit, he hadn’t meant to get mad, he wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her it would all be alright, that he was right there and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. That all he wanted was for her to survive so she never had to leave his side. But none of that would help her, would just make her uncomfortable, and put added pressure on her. He wanted to tell her he loved her … but stopped himself like he had for months.

“V…”

“Don’t Vik, I don't need a lecture” the merc finally let go of his shirt, attempting to sit up and get out of the chair still looking a bit dizzy from the previous malfunction.

She refused to make eye contact as she stood, preparing to delta as fast as she could.

” The last thing I need is the one man whose opinion means a damn to me giving me shit”

Vik started to open his mouth to explain, he wasn't trying to do that. He never wanted to.

” Look I know you hate him and you don't get it, but I'm trying my best. Even if that means Johnny needs to take over some times, and look... I get it it may speed things up, and that scares the shit out of me but I don't know another way.”

“ you could ask for help V”

“ Vik I ask for you help so much I feel like a leach, like i'm taking advantage, I bother you all the fucking time… I can’t impose on your life more than I already do. I know you cant want a half dead gonk barging in here all the time… I just… fuck forget it”

In one swift movement she hopped up and walked quickly towards the door, purposeful strides carrying her away from the ripper.

” Vik sometimes I don't want you to try and fix me, I just want you to be with you”

She moved faster towards the gates before she said something that couldn’t be taken back. Something that might ruin the friendship she had and make her look truly pathetic. She had already accepted the ripper was taking care of her out of friendship, guilt at not being able to save her, or some obligation to Jackie. She just used that to see his face as often as she could, spend what little time she might have with him. She knew she had to be a disappointment to him though, just some dumb streetkid who couldn’t get her shit together when it came down to the wire. She reached the gate and turned her head back to him one more time.

“Vik … I know you might not feel the same .. but when I’m here with you… fuck.” she swallowed her words.`` I’ll take better care of myself, I’ll get you the eddies for my arm soon” and she disappeared around the corner.

“V “ he shouted after her, frozen in place.

Vik stood in stunned silence for the most excruciating minute of his life. He had never been all that great with his words and couldn't respond as quickly as he wished. Sharing his feelings was a weak point all his exes had pointed out and he hadn't learned much on that front as he got older. Feel the same about what? Be with him how? A flicker of recognition flashed through his mind. He may make a fool of himself but it felt like now or never. Chase after the girl or she may walk out of his life forever, which meant he couldn’t see much for himself to lose. Normally not one to make rash decisions the ripper bolted out of the clinic flinging the gate open not bothering to lock up. If V was telling him she just wanted him to be near her, well he was going to make sure he did that for as long as he could calling out after her again as he bounded up the stairs.

At the top though, he didn’t see her, just the normal gonks hanging in the ally. The shadows and light in the clearing played tricks on his eyes through his dark shades. Glimpses at figures that could be the merc seemed to be at every exit as he whipped his head around frantically. A familiar meow sounded at his feet, the pale ally cat looking up at him eyes wide and piercing. The cat brushed against his calf then walked towards the elevator, meowing again at the closed doors, becoming him to follow it, the elevator panel indicating it was up at the roof. With a heavy swallow he reached out, all hesitation gone and pressed the call button.

#I am bananas nervous about posting this #like it's probably really not good #ugh #viktor vector #v x viktor #rippermerc #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #female V #this is probably a bad idea kill me

13 notes · View notes