Chapter Text
“I don’t think you have the heart for this kind of job, kid.”
Words from Vik that seemed oddly prophetic now, as V was sitting in the ripperdoc’s office, face buried in her hands. Sobs retched from V’s body, shaking and breathing in heavily, events from the previous job racing through her memories.
“Like, fuck Vik! I can handle most jobs, but I’ve never seen anything like that! I mean, hell, I’ve done some pretty fucked up shit, but nothing --”
“V, kid, listen,” Vik ran a hand through his hair, pushing his glasses up after the hand was freed from his locks. He was trying his best to calm her down, but whatever happened was overwhelming to say the least. “Things are just like that. You really think Night City was going to be good, clean fun? If so, maybe you should just --”
“Vik! That’s not the point! You didn’t see it!” The poor girl was trying to keep it together, at least long enough to actually articulate what she saw, but it was of no use. The tears kept coming out, her hyperventilating making her chest rise and fall in an exaggerated manner.
His own deep sigh made his chest rise and fall in that same exaggerated way, albeit slower and less labored. Looking over to Jackie, Vik raised an eyebrow, silently asking what happened. Jackie’s only response was to shake his head, confirming that whatever had happened warranted this reaction from V. The job was fucked in the worst ways possible, and the pay was nowhere near enough to justify what the two saw.
“Hey, V, chica, escúchame.” Jackie sat down beside V, an arm securely around her, pulling her in closer to him. “I’m going to see Misty, alright. Gonna wind down. After that we can go out, party like there’s no tomorrow, yeah? Would that help?”
It wouldn’t, but it would at least give V a chance to forget, at least for a while, and she could pass out at the end of the night with no issue, no fear of nightmares raising her from her sleep. Nodding, she tried wiping her tears, wanting to look less of a mess around the two men. And like he said, once Jackie got the confirmation she was coming, he left, going upstairs to see his girl.
Alone with Vik, she tried to pull herself together again, pulling her knees up to her chest. So many times had she been lying in the doctor’s chair, augmentations added to her body, but now more than ever she hoped he would sedate her, make her go to sleep to help her out.
“Sorry, Vik. Must look like a real puss, huh? Promise I’m not always like this.”
Pushing himself over to the chair, he put a strong, steady hand on her thigh, taking his glasses off to look at her, eye to eye. “If it’s something that’s got you this shaken, Jackie worried, then it had to have been rough. You sure you wanna go out with Jack later?”
Taking in a shaky breath, she shook her head, laughing coldly. “Nope, not really in the mood to party. But I could use the sedative. Unless you wanna hook me up? I’ll pay double.” His own cold laugh was his response, patting her thigh.
“Yeah, not happening, but you’re welcome to stay here, and I’ll try to help in any other way.”
“Can I get a hug? Haven’t had a real one of those in a damn while.” Risky move to ask, but it had been so long since she had real, intimate contact. BD’s were nice enough, and Jackie’s playful hugs were good, but nothing like a prolonged hug. And, hell, he did offer to help in any other way, one of the few people V felt comfortable asking. Maybe Misty would give her one too, but she was certainly busy with Jackie. So, that left the good ol’ ripperdoc.
The response she got was a hearty laugh, the man putting his glasses back on, rolling the seat he was sitting in back. V just sighed, laughing a little too, tinged with a slight bit of sadness, taking it as rejection. “Yeah, kind of a stupid request, huh? Look, I’ll just go drag Jackie out, get him out of Misty’s hair. Forget I asked.”
“Hold on, I didn’t say no. Just have to give me time to get up; I’m old, V.” She smiled softly, swinging her legs to the side of the chair, facing him directly.
“Eh, don’t have to get up. I’ll make it quick.” Getting to her feet, she stood in front of the rolling chair, smiling even wider when Vik’s arms opened wide. Wrapping her own arms around him, she bit her lip when his arms held her back, screwing her eyes shut trying not to cry. Overwhelmed with emotion would be an understatement. Shaking again, she failed miserably to try and stop the tears, so thankful for the human contact. It really had been so fucking long.
And even more, she felt safe enough to cry again over the job. The tears were silent, trying not to sob as loud as she did before, but when Vik shifted, moving so that he could her into his lap to hold her better, she let it all out again. No words were exchanged, the only sounds in the room being V’s cries and the soft sound of Vik’s hand, rubbing up and down her back, the sound of fabric on skin.
At some point, Jackie had come down to collect V, ready to head out. However, when he stumbled upon the scene, he left, chuckling to himself. The scene was soft, V still on Vik’s lap, head gently resting on his shoulder while she slept, and he had rolled over to his computer working while the girl slept.