Hey everyone, been a heck of a hiatus, I know. I lost the muse to write this out of nowhere. But dang a lot of people have started following and liking this. I owe it to all of you who are here to finish this story. Those of you that have been here since the beginning, my sincerest thanks. Your feedback has been invaluable. Those of you who started following more recently, thank you so much. You were the swift kick and reminder I needed that I can't leave this half done. I get frustrated when I love a fic and it's left unfinished. I can't be the hypocrite.

Not to mention I started playing again and got the itch to write it again.

Also, I agree the last chapter was rough for me to write, and I apologize if it was hard to read.

I am changing how I write the chapters as far as perspective. I got an interesting review that, after contemplation, I agree with. This allows me to flow from perspective inside the chapter without making a solid break in it if I don't want to. Lemme know what you think.

Thank you all for sticking around, happy reading.

—-

2147 Hours, Vik's hideout

There was a haze of speaking around her. A pulsing, throbbing pain in her arm and side bloomed to life and her senses flared in a dull flower of pain. The voices around her seemed distant, muffled as though she was submerged in water. Even though she tried, she could barely get her body to move. Her mind pushed her body to respond. It was like pushing against a giant slab of granite that she couldn't move no matter how strong her will was. She couldn't even get her vocal cords to produce a frustrated grunt. She tried to swallow but her throat was dry as could be. Eventually, V recognized the sluggish and lack of physical response in her body was from a sedative. Her mind had come back before her physical motor functions did. Focusing her thoughts was all she could manage at the moment. Fuck.

Sometime later, V wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it felt like an eternity. She finally managed to crack open her eyes and immediately slammed the heavy lids shut. The light that hit her eyes was harsh and made the world go white for a moment while her kiroshi's adjusted. V winced, her eyes watered trying to adjust, and the tear spilled over slowly trailing down the side of her face. She felt a hand place itself on hers, and something soft gently wiped away the tear trailing down her cheek. V blinked, slowly at first, trying to get her eyes to register.

She looked up and saw Celeste. Her brow was slightly furrowed in what looked like concern and frustration. V opened her mouth to speak, and it cracked a few times before her raspy voice carried through. "..Damn. I just woke up..what'd I do... to piss you off already?" the corner of Celeste's mouth pulled just slightly into a smile. She gently shook her head, her ash blonde hair shifting with it. It looked so soft. V noticed some dried blood in some of Celeste's hair on the side of her head. V shifted onto her right elbow, her left was in a sling, and she was trying to take the weight off her injured left side. V winced as she began scooting up into a seated position. She gritted her teeth through the pain and continued, wondering when Celeste was going to try to stop her. Surprise painted her features when she only felt a strong arm support her back and assist her in sitting up. "Wow. No one ever lets you just sit up." She smiled through the discomfort she was sure leaked into her facial expression.

Celeste's mouth screwed up in mild annoyance but didn't bother telling V to stay down. She would do the same if she were V, so she decided to help her sit up and hopefully mitigate any more damage. Celeste could feel the solid muscles of V's back beneath her arm, and she was surprised. Apparently, V didn't carry her muscle in a bulky fashion. Celeste wasn't bulky, but her muscles were not as..compacted as V's. Celeste's body was fashioned from a lifetime of combat training, weight lifting, rucking, extreme calisthenic and plyometric exercise, survival training and strict regimented lifestyle. This was all before she was allowed any implants or chrome. For all intents and purposes, she was a weapon through and through. Arasaka made sure of that when they took her as a young child and honed her into a weapon. Arasaka sold her to Militech as a teenager with the mission of infiltrating them and being a covert agent. Celeste found that Militech was a better employer and defected, sharing why she was sold to them. Militech changed her appearance, data, and changed her chrome so that Arasaka would have no way to use her against them. She fed them all the information she had on Arasaka and became and asset to Militech. She was molded and became a weapon, like so many others they had made. And then there was V. She chose to live the mercenary life, Celeste admired her for it, and envied her ability to choose it. She still couldn't fathom why she would choose it, but she envied her lifetime of ability to choose.

Celeste's mind flittered to her past for a brief moment. She had tried to live a normal life after she, Codex, and her other teammate, Reeve, absconded with the tech and data from the last job they had with Militech deciding to go AWOL. After they had covered their tracks and were sure they shook Militech, ironically using their own tech to do so, they decided it was best to split up. Celeste was going to try and live a normal life, Reeve didn't want any ties to anything not even telling them his plan, and Codex was bent on becoming a Netrunner who used the Ghoster to erase people from the system she hated so much. Codex took the tech, and they all agreed they'd only be in contact when and if they needed help for something they couldn't handle alone, or needed to ghost. Reeve kept true to his word and disappeared, neither she nor Codex had heard from him since they split over a decade ago. Celeste stashed the data and lasted about eight months living a normal life before she decided to become a merc. But for her, it was because it was all she had known. When you've been a weapon your whole life, you don't know how to be anything else. She didn't even know how to start trying to be something other than what she was. This is what confused Celeste about V. V didn't live her life honed as a weapon, she was a normal person, and yet she still chose this life. Celeste could not for the life of her fathom why. But at the same time, a selfish part of her was glad. Celeste had to admit V was attractive, and it'd been a long time since she'd gotten laid. She could tell from watching their brief interaction that V had eyes for that chick with green and pink hair, but to her knowledge, they weren't outputs. What was her name again? Starts with a J…Jade? Something like that. She wasn't integral to the plan so Celeste didn't commit her name to immediate memory.

Celeste shook the brief thoughts from her head. She had gotten carried away and was staring at V. She wasn't conscious of her usually schooled facial expression either. From the slight tinge of color to V's cheeks she must have had a specific look and been staring for too long. Celeste released the arm that was still around V's back. Get your shit together. You can handle your own rocks later, fuck. What a rookie fuckin' move.

V was caught off guard by the gentle caress of Celeste's hand on her side and the subdued look that had slipped into her lavender eyes as she stared at V. Celeste was an attractive woman, hands down, but V did not think she was even on her radar. Well, that might have been because she was so caught up on Judy though. Maybe she missed signals? "Where's Jackie and everyone else?" V casually asked, trying not to call attention to the brief moment of staring between them. Maybe if she just ignored it, it would go away. V couldn't deny the visceral attraction coiling in her stomach and nether regions but she damn sure pushed them away.

If Celeste was glad or upset about the topic change, she didn't let it show on her face either way. Her usual, hard-to-read, passive expression, slid firmly back into place as she leaned back in the chair next to the bed. "He's just in the other room. He's fine, thankfully. The big oaf. How someone can be so dumb and loveable at the same time is beyond me. Never met anyone like 'im. The jackass."

V chuckled a bit, and a smile curved the corners of her lips, meeting her eyes. If anyone spoke about Jackie in such a way, it usually resulted in them experiencing immense pain. But Jackie and Celeste had been through it together. She saved his ass and he saved hers. So to V, she had the right to comment on Jackie's personality. Not to mention she was right. It was actually kinda nice to have someone else who had to experience his endearing yet aggravating behavior as she did. "Same. But he's the only real friend I've had in this shit hole of a city. He's loyal, which ain't normal. He can be as thick as they come, don't get me wrong. Kinda nice to have someone else who has to deal with his shit like I do."

One of Celeste's eyebrows raised in amusement as she smiled and a small exhale of laughter through her nose escaped. "Well, he's definitely not the one to plan with, that's for sure. Not sure if he gets the meaning of the word. But he's got heart, and when push comes to shove he's useful as hell in a firefight. Come on. I'd tell you to stay here in bed, but you don't strike me as the type to stay idle. Especially not after being under for three days like you have." Celeste stood as she spoke and held her hand out to help V up from the bed. She wore an aloof expression on her face, like the statement she made wasn't that big of a deal.

"Three days?!" V had a moment of panic. It's not like she had places to be or anything, but that was a lot of time to miss. And her usual fixers would be curious as to her whereabouts. V worked almost every day or part of one at the least. Even if she was injured she would take some type of lightweight, no-risk job.

V took Celeste's hand and swung her legs out on the side of the bed. The throb in her left side and shoulder reminded her she had been shot twice, just in case she forgot. As V stood she went through her phone records in her head, her eyes taking on the flickering light. She stood up, her boots thankfully still on, sparing her the dirty floors that were customary everywhere in the city. She let go of Celeste's hand and cradled her side with her one free hand as her call and text logs popped up in her vision.

She had three missed calls from Regina and a text message. V's eyes read over the message, just to be sure it wasn't anything important.

[Regina] Hey kid, you better be laid up in a hospital bed, making me find other people for all these damned gigs. Call me when you're done bein' a lazy piece a shit n' wanna work again. Got some cyberpsycho's need handlin'. You're the only one who takes 'em alive, most of the time.

V let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't some bad news. She knew if she was on a hit list or something bad, Regina wouldn't necessarily pass on the money for the hit, but she'd at least give her a heads-up about it.

V had several missed calls from Jackie's mom and a few other texts from other fixers for jobs. Most followed up with another text of "got another merc, be quicker to respond next time" or something along those lines.

What bit V with anticipation and some type of weird excitement was a few texts from Judy. She opened them hurriedly. She was worried that Judy was gonna be mad she hadn't reached out in three days and hoped that it wasn't the case. She was actually flattered that Judy thought to message her at all, given her recent breakup and how it went down with Evelyn.

[Judy] Hey V. just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to check on her place. Thought about it. You're probably right. Ev must've cut her losses and left the city. Checked with peeps who knew her, but no one's seen or heard from her since she delta'd.

[Judy] I guess I'm happy she's ok, but I'm also pissed at her for the way she just cut loose. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks, again. Sorry to drop all that shit on you in a text. Make it up to you with those drinks? I'm still down if you are. You make this crazy city seem normal when we talk, and I could use some more of that in my life.

Those were sent the next morning after everything went down. The next text messages from Judy were from yesterday. She had waited two days before she texted again.

[Judy] Hey. Just wanted to apologize. Didn't mean to scare ya off or come across as weird with the last messages. xP Thanks for bein' nice the other day, offering drinks an' all. I guess I'll see ya when I see ya? Just let me know you're ok though. A lot of shit went down and I just wanna be sure you're ok. Not caught in any blowback, ya know?

V's stomach dropped. Fuck! She knew she wasn't ghosting Judy, she was literally unconscious recovering for three days, but Judy didn't fuckin know that. The more V thought about it the more she believed what a shitty excuse it would sound like over a text or a phone call. Judy might believe her, but she felt it was something she would need to say in person. She needed Judy to see how sincere she was. Plus she couldn't risk making a call or sending a message in case they were tracking her digitally. If she put Judy in danger or everyone else here, she'd never forgive herself. V schooled her face as she exited her digital phone. She must've let something resembling concern play on her face because Celeste was looking at her like she was ready to fight.

Celeste's voice was tight but controlled, "Bad news? We need to delta?"

V relaxed, she realized Celeste must think she just received news that impacted all of them in the negative. V exhaled softly and let her shoulders relax. "Nah. We're good. It was a personal message. Nothin' to worry about. An don't worry, didn't respond, can't risk us, or her bein' tracked by it." V shifted her weight to one leg in an attempt to appear like it wasn't a big deal.

Celeste put one of her hands on her own hip. She tilted her head as a curious eyebrow piqued on her scarred, but striking face. The scars reminded V of the fine striations in marble. They weren't horribly raised or lowered, they healed flat, the discoloration slightly lighter than the rest of her skin. Celeste leaned in every so slightly, almost imperceptibly, "I'm just gonna come out an' ask, since we could die at any time. No time like the present, right?"

V's confused but intrigued look was the only response Celeste received. Celeste smiled, confident, and continued on. "Not that we don't have way more important shit to focus on, but uh.. If we get a moment, or if you prefer, once we get out of this, how about you an' me get a drink. Or if you'd rather…we can skip the drink and pleasantries. You look like you could blow off some steam, and so could I." Celeste's eyes raked up and down V's body, not in a creepy or unpleasant way. Unfortunately it was in a way that made that heat tinge V's face and coil between her legs.

V was taken off guard. How the hell had she missed the signals that Celeste was interested? Maybe her focus being Judy had something to do with it. Shit. V's mouth almost started to hang open, her lips slightly parting as she paused. She was not prepared for this, not in the slightest. "Uh, well.. Gotta admit I wasn't expectin' you to say that. Honestly, had no clue you were even interested like that."

Celeste's eyes glanced up and she shrugged like she knew V wouldn't know. "That's fair. I wasn't broadcasting it. Kinda been on the fence about it, not to mention way more pressing shit has been happening."

V half smiled and her eyebrows raised, her expression indicating how much of an understatement that was, "Yeah, you could say that. Um, well, I'm flattered, but-"

Celeste took a small step closer. "Think about it. I know you got eyes for that other girl. But this could be as casual or as serious as you want. Our little secret. I won't tell you if you don't." She smiled, and for the first time V saw genuine warmth enter Celeste's expression, her lavender eyes softened as she smiled. The edge of her voice was flirtatious, her eyes seductive, and V was not ready for the reaction her body had. Shit.

For all intents and purposes, V was very single, and she might have already blundered her chances with Judy, only time would tell. Celeste had presented something she needed time to think about and process. But her body was definitely on board. V just had to figure out where her head and heart were with it. She couldn't lie to herself though, the offer was front and center, and very, very tempting.

V's cheeks flushed and she felt herself tighten with warmth when Celeste's hand unexpectedly caressed the side of her face, her thumb gently running along her bottom lip. Her heart rate picked up and her lust threatened to take over with the proximity.

Thankfully her injuries where very present and Celeste stepped back, starting to make her way to the door. "Think about it. In the meantime, we should talk with the others. They'll be happy to see you up and about."

V took a moment to compose herself. Fuck. She'd never had two women interested in her at the same time. Well, not two women of this caliber. Judy, she was infatuated with her completely. She made her feel things she hadn't felt before and V found her damned attractive. Celeste was left field and incited a shit ton of lust in her, damned easily. But she didn't know anything about her. She seemed to have a heavily dramatic past. V didn't know what to do or think so she pushed it all to the back of her mind. Focus. You gotta help them still. Time to get to business.

V exited the bedroom after Celeste and entered the common room of Vik's hideout. It wasn't the cleanest, but according to Vik, it was safe. The past three days she had been safely unconscious were indicative of that fact. Her eyes scanned the room. Jackie and Panam were both sitting on the couch drinking beers. Jackie's jacket was off, and he was wearing a racerback lifting shirt, the bandage on his wounded shoulder was thankfully clean, no blood peeking through. Panam was her same old self relaxing on the opposite end. They both raised their beers in cheers to see V up and walking.

"Well look at that. She has risen! …And looks like death warmed over. Shit, V." Panam joked with a smile, "Glad you're finally up."

"Amiga! Took you long enough!" Jackie immediately got up and folded V into a hug. She winced at the pain in her shoulder and Jackie immediately pulled back, his hands on her arms. 'Sorry, I got excited and forgot you're messed up." He smiled sheepishly. "We couldn't force the pills down your throat while you were out of it. Well, Celeste said she could... But I didn't wanna risk you chokin' or somethin'. So I wouldn't let her. Here." Jackie grabbed a pill bottle off of a nightstand and procured two green capsules. These were for the facial surgery. Help you heal faster or some shit. They've worked wonders for me. My shoulder is almost good to go takin' these every day." Jackie worked his arm in circles to illustrate his point.

V popped the pills in her mouth and took Jackie's beer from his hand to wash 'em down. "Damn, I feel like shit. Appreciate the concern, Jackie-boy. Next time though, shove those down my throat. I'd have loved to wake up better than I am right now. But I'm really glad you're alright." Her flat expression combined with her resigned tone caused Jackie to laugh and clap her back with his hand. Jackie once again, forgot she was still fucked up.

V sighed and glared at Jackie with a mix of irritation and endearment, "..Jackie.."

Jackie immediately remembered and winced, baring his teeth in embarrassment, "Eh, sorry choom. I'm ah.. Gonna just sit down now." Jackie slunk backward with his hands up in front of him, the sheepish smile on his face as he sat down.

Panam looked like she was about to comment, before thinking better of it. She shook her head and sipped her beer, her face saying her mind had moved on. "Not to interrupt, but now that V's awake, what's the game plan?"

A pensive, collective silence filled the room as Celeste and V took the remaining chairs to sit on. What was the plan now, indeed?

—-

Earlier the same day, 1857 Hours, Judy's Apartment

Judy set down her tools, sitting back in her chair with a huff. Usually, tinkering on this was her way of relieving stress. Between Evelyn and her breaking up delta'ing the fuck out of Night City and not hearing back from V, Judy was stressed and annoyed. V didn't owe her anything, but she hated being ghosted, and it felt like there was something budding between them. Judy already had trouble voicing her emotions and feelings and she had picked apart her text to V repeatedly over the past two days. She could feel herself on the precipice of debating if she was too forward or clingy or something in her message.

Judy pushed back from the table and walked over to her open window, leaning on the window sill and taking in the view. The warm sun on her skin made up for the unpleasant mix of smells from the city. She had a pretty decent view though, all things considered.

Unable to stop her spiraling thoughts, Judy wondered if her budding feelings for V were too quick, too soon. She kept coming back to the same reasoning, as hard as it was for her to accept. She had mentally been out of her relationship with Evelyn far before their argument and decisive breakup. Had Evelyn felt the same, or picked up on this? She couldn't deny she had been flirting with V at the Afterlife bar. Maybe Evelyn saw that and it helped her make the decision to cut her losses and leave. Judy sighed, exasperated with her own circling, unhelpful thoughts.

She liked V, she couldn't deny it. Why should she? Even if she did misread V and blow her shot with her, she had to accept her budding feelings of liking her. The other possibility of why V didn't respond wormed its way into the vortex of doubt.

What if something bad happened to V? She was helping, for her own reasons, sure, but also because Judy asked her to. What if her looking into Ev' got V hurt, killed, or worse, captured by Arasaka. A megacorp was not an enemy one wanted to have. As if on queue the sound of local news coming from a radio below at commercial break reached her ears. She let her view trail down to the radio and group of people below. They were already drinking and listening to the radio, talking shit about something Judy didn't care to know about. Their conversation trailed off as the news came on.

[Radio News, Female Anchor] In the wake of the unexpected murder of Saburo and Yorinobu Arasaka, Hanako Arasaka is now the sole surviving family member and newfound CEO of the Arasaka Corporation, one of the largest Mega Corporations in existence. Speculation on the motives of the murder and who is responsible has run rampant over the following week since their deaths. Many suspect Militech given the history of the Shadow Wars between the two corporations, citing that no one aside from another MegaCorp or equally large organization could possibly achieve such a feat.

Hanako Arasaka finally came forward and made an official statement regarding her father and brother's death and what the Corporations plans are moving forward.

[Hanako Arasaka's voice on Radio] The death of my honorable father and brother causes great pain to myself and the Arasaka Corporation. Though I desire a path of peace moving forward, this murder cannot go unaccounted for. We will not be hasty in our investigation, or the apprehension of those responsible. As of now, we are ruling out no one as a potential suspect, but we do have a lead we are currently following. Know that whoever is responsible will be found and held accountable as well as any who have aided them in their escape.

I will take on the great responsibility of leading the Arasaka Corporation and strengthening its legacy moving forward. When we find those responsible, the world will know.

[Female Anchor] This announcement from Hanako Arasaka comes in the wake of a recent targeting of Militech convoys, transports, and meetings, reportedly being targeted by Arasaka agents and netrunners. It would seem Arasaka is hunting a lead somehow linked to Militech. Militech refused to comment on the recent incidents, but there has been a reported increase in their security measures at various security points and bases of operations. Tensions are high as fears of another Corporate War seem to loom on the Horizon, already affecting the Stock Market. This is WNS with the latest.

The group of three brightly-haired and clothed individuals below Judy began talking as the music began playing again, "Ha! Arasaka dick holes got what was comin' to 'em. I fuckin' love watching these fuckers tear themselves apart."

"Yeah but what if there's anotha' Corpo war? Like the lady said. I wasn't alive for the last one but they said it was bad." The girl tried to hide that she was unsure and nervous.

The third subject chimed in after chugging his beer, throwing the empty bottle, the shattering glass preceding their angry shout, "Who gives a shit? Life sucks for us already. Ways I sees it, let 'em beat each otha' up. Then we small people can make off like bandits. And maybe some otha' small peeps like us'll knock em off. Permanently."

"That's be preem, we-"

Judy stopped listening with a sigh. If they were hunting Militech, that was a good sign that V was alright, but did nothing for her feelings of being ghosted. Judy walked to her bathroom, stripped her clothes off, and turned on the shower. Judy looked at herself in the mirror as she waited for the water to heat up. She dragged her hands down her face. She looked a little tired from the mental stress she was under.

She wished she could just leave this damned City. Judy turned and stepped into the shower, the hot water melting her worries away as she relaxed into its warmth. Why couldn't she leave the city though? She sighed, she could leave, there was nothing holding her there, but where the hell would she go? She could always go live with her grandparents in Oregon but she really liked her independence and freedom. She didn't think she could stand living under someone's rules again.

Judy finished washing, exited the shower, dried off, and put on a bra and shorts. She padded, barefooted, to her refrigerator and cracked a beer. Her eye's shifted over to her box of diving gear. She hadn't gone in a while. She still wasn't ready for the dive to her old town, but maybe she'd go on a dive tomorrow anyway. Judy let the pleasant idea fill her thoughts as she walked to her BD editing room. She'd mess around with some work for a few hours and then hit the hay. Anything to keep her from wondering how or if she messed things up with V.

—-

2208 Hours, Vik's Hideout

"That's been on repeat on the news everywhere since yesterday." Panam muted the TV holo smiling triumphantly. She flopped back on the couch holding her beer up, "Looks like we've successfully shaken Arasaka. Well, you two did, anyway. No idea why or how they think it's Militech but I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth." She raised her beer in cheers once more before taking a long swig.

V felt her shoulders relax as she raised her beer in cheers and took a long draw. She sighed, a smile coming to her lips as she looked at Jackie. "Lookin' like you'll be able to make a clean getaway from the city after all."

"Haha!" Jackie juked his shoulders, and punched a fist in the air, barely bellying his excitement, "Hell yeah, the best part is I didn't even have to change my handsome face." He lifted his chin, smiling and running his hand over his cheek and jaw, jokingly admiring his distorted reflection in the glass bottle.

V smiled letting her head drop back on the sofa, running her free hand down over her face. Now she understood why they were drinking and looking so relaxed when she walked out of the room. Their biggest concern had been her well-being and recovery. In a few days, with these pills, she'd be good to go, and she'd be able to take Judy out. Figure out where that was gonna go. V's thoughts were brought back to her friends by a jarring thought. Jackie would be leaving soon. Potentially, so would Misty. The thought was sobering for her among the levity. Jackie had been her friend for a while now, and it was hard to imagine life in Night City without him. V idly picked at the label on the bottle before turning to look at Panam. "So, I suppose the next steps stay the same, Panam? You help them get out of the city, past the border, and on their way to greener pastures?"

Panam nodded, her vision focused on something but also nothing in particular, "Yep. Tomorrow I'll get them out of this place and on their way out of the city. I have some buddies in my clan who're gonna help me get them past the border and safely to their getaway vehicle. After that, the rest is on them." Panam gestured to Jackie and Celeste with her beer.

V looked at Jackie. There wasn't any privacy and their time was short, so she chose to be blunt, "What about Misty, Jack?" She leaned forward, resting her good elbow on her knee. She was already damn tired of the sling.

Jackie's air of ease seemed to slough off of him into a stoic look. "Didn't ask her."

"What?" V couldn't believe what she just heard Jackie say, "Whad'ya mean, ya didn't ask her?"

Jackie shrugged, mirroring V's sitting position as he looked at her. "I didn't ask her if she wanted to come with me, officially. Ya know, to run away. The whole thing is going to be dangerous, for a long while. Misty has a life here, she's safe. Well, as much as ya can be in this city, anyway. I'm gonna be out there tryin' to lay low and survive. She deserves better 'an that. Besides. She's tried to leave once before, and she came back. Said she couldn't do without the noise of the city, that it called to her or some shit. I'm not gonna make her choose. It ain't right. I'll come back to her, one day."

V was a bit surprised at his seriousness, she couldn't detect any of his usual playfulness. Before V could respond Jackie was picking up his jacket from the armrest and grabbing a data card from the pocket. "Do me a favor. Give this to Misty, along with this. It's the key to my place. Tell Misty everything inside is hers until I get back." He smiled, but it was drawn, and slightly forlorn. "And this!" His face brightened a bit as he looked at V, "The key to my sick wheels, the Arch. Ya know, the source of my new name, haha. She's all your's V. Also, ya know, just until I get back into town." Jackie smiled at V, all positive energy and optimism. It was as if Jackie knew the secrets to life and knew it would all work out. Sometimes V wasn't sure if he was secretly a genius that acted aloof or if he was just the luckiest gonk she'd ever met. She hoped it was a bit of both. He'd need the luck out there on his own.

"Jackie, I…I dunno what to say." She slowly closed her fingers around the motorcycle key before bringing her eyes up to meet his. "I'm gonna miss ya, bud. A lot. So you better do your time layin low and stay safe. Either you come back or you get set up and we'll come to you, ya hear me?" She smiled stubbornly, challenging her best friend. When it came to being challenged to succeed, Jackie was easily goaded.

"Tch. Consider it achieved already, bendeja." He smiled and winked at her. He raised his beer and they clinked together before both finished the remainder of their bottles.

V couldn't help the smile she wore and simultaneously fought to keep the thought of missing her friend from her face. In an attempt to keep her mind from allowing that thought to show she looked to Celeste. Celeste was quiet the entire time, currently opening her second, or third? beer. She smiled when she saw V looking at her, "Damn shame we'll be leavin' so soon. Guess we won't get to knock boots, after all, V. Such a shame."

Panam, who was taking a swig of beer at the time, paused, holding the beer in her mouth. Her eyebrows damn near touched her hairline, and amusement glittered in her eyes which held so many unspoken questions. Her cheeks, full of beer, fought a smile and she forced herself to down the beer in her mouth.

Jackie was not as in control of his own reaction and chortled beer from his mouth and nose, all over the floor in front of him. Panam and Celeste both burst out into raucous laughter. Whether they were laughing at the sight of Jackie or what Celeste said, V wasn't sure, but she let herself laugh as well. She hoped it covered for the color that rose to her cheeks. Damn it this woman was forward and she was apparently never going to be ready for it.

Jackie's coughing was finally beginning to subside, and Panam was now leaning forward, full amusement in her smile, "I have so many questions." Panam's hands were splayed, her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward. Her head minutely shifting back and forth between Celeste and V.

"Ah, no. Not answerin' any of 'em." V smiled suppressing a nervous laugh with a drink of the beer she just opened.

"Oh come on! Don't be a killjoy." Panam tried to persuade V by giving her a look that seemed to say, 'you know you wanna talk about it'.

"First of all, I don't kiss n' tell. Ever. Second. Nothin' to tell. It's exactly as Celeste said. Won't have the time. Can't share somethin' that hasn't happened." V shrugged, signaling that was the beginning and the end of it, "Also!" V pointed her beer accusatorily at Celeste, "How the fuck am I the only one answerin' to shit you started?" V shook her head, her tone was playfully accusatory as she leaned forward and began swatting her hand at the air in Celeste's general direction. She couldn't help the laughter that escaped her mouth, the sound quickly being followed by Jackie and Panam's own laughter.

Celeste smiled, feigning exaggerated shock and innocence, placing one of her hands on her own chest "Me? Start something? I have no idea what you're talking about." Celeste smiled coyly before laughing freely. She lounged back, tossing one of her legs over the arm of the chair, the heel of her other foot curled up and on the edge of the seat. She took another long draw of her beer, before lazily holding it, her arm resting on her knee slung over the arm of the chair. "Ok fine. Maybe I did. But maybe it's because I'm just fucking desperate for you to finish it." Celeste's playful tone remained light, but there was a hidden flash of lust in her eyes as she looked at V.

V had enbibed enough beer to be confident and quick-tongued with her reply. Or maybe she was just warming up to Celeste and her lustful jibes. V's tone was playfully sarcastic. "Well I would, but I'm too fucked up physically to give you the proper service you deserve."

Celeste's look flashed with a type of lustful enjoyment. She was enjoying the banter, V could tell. Thankfully Jackie chimed in first, apparently too tipsy to pick up on the subtleties of the exchange between them. Mainly on the ones from Celeste. "I mean look, we only got one room here alright? And V and I have a rule from when we lived together." Jackie looked at V, raising his chin expectantly as he pointed his beer in her direction.

V lifted her beer, raising her chin and puffing her chest a bit, speaking the rule in unison with Jackie. "If your chooms in the place, you can't play sit on my face." Everyone in the room burst into laughter at the end of the line. Panam was shaking her head in disbelief, trying to hide her open-mouthed laugh with her hand. Celeste's hand was on her stomach, her head tilted back in a full open-mouthed belly laugh. V and Jackie both very tipsy at this point and proud of their perfect in unison recital of the rule, stood up and clanked their beers so hard in cheers they shattered.

A brief shocked silence struck before more laughter filled the hide-out apartment supplied by Vik. Luckily neither of their hands got cut from the glass. The night of drinking went on. Eventually, they got hungry and Jackie and Celeste ended up in the kitchen bragging about their cooking skills. Jackie boasted his recipes were familial, perfected over generations, and were raved about by the entire neighborhood. Celeste claimed her recipes were superior because if she was able to make field rations taste good, her ingenuity and understanding of food chemistry would make regular food taste divine. V and Panam sat drinking at the kitchen bar/counter area, strategically agreeing and goading both of them until a full-out cook-off war was in full swing.

Panam put on some instrumental radio station in the background, and delicious smells began filling the apartment. Jackie was doing a type of salsa-esque shimmy in his work area as he chopped ingredients up. Celeste was all smiles and giggles, seemingly fully relaxed as she deconstructed vending machine burritos for their interior ingredients before frying them up and adding different seasonings.

V wondered how often Celeste let herself relax to this extent. V opened her next beer. She didn't know if this was her 10th or 11th, but who cared? They were safe and they all needed to blow off some steam. The safe house was amply stocked with booze, water, dried foods, canned foods, and freeze-dried meats and vegetables. Vik planned for this to be able to hold someone in hiding for a long time. She really owed him for this, and she had to remember to dig and see why he had a dive like this in the first place.

V opened another beer for Panam, passing it to her. She and Panam laughed watching Celeste hip-check Jackie as he was working. Jackie looked at her with astonishment, "Oh you dirty cheater! Ya know what, it's fine. When mine's better, it'll show how superior I am for working under inhospitable conditions." Jackie slowly spoke the last bit, clearly tipsy and trying to sound very intelligent, adding what everyone guessed was a snooty trying to be British accent. It's not that Jackie was actually dumb, it just wasn't his usual vocabulary and he was trying to sound superior. The joke landed, and they all laughed with him.

Panam was all warm eyes and happy smiles as she drank and leaned on the counter.

"Enny for your thoughts?" V smiled, gently shifting to bump Panam's shoulder with her own as she took another lazy drink of beer. The beers seemed to become empty faster the more she drank. Curious.

Panam slightly shifted her head to look at V, her warm smile not faltering in the least. "Just these kinda moments. Family. Chosen family. Reminds me of my clan. Make's me happy knowin' the entire world ain't shit. That there are other people out there who find solace, happiness with their chosen families too."

V smiled taking in and appreciating the scene. She couldn't help the smile on her face as she made the next comment under her breath so only Panam could hear her, "Yeah. It's pretty great. Except that, ya know, my..step-sister? cousin..?.. Wants to fuck me, apparently."

Panam made an uncomfortable, grossed-out face smeared with a drunk smile and snort of a laugh, "That's so gross when you put it that way. Fuckin' gross, V."

V laughed, "Hey, I was just followin' your analogy, ok? This is all your fault."

Panam shook her head, not having the accusation, "I'm with Jackie, ok? No fuckin when your choom is in the room,... or whatever the hell it was." Panam and V shared a brief stare before falling into a drunken fit of laughter.

Drinking aside V truly appreciated what this evening was. V started speaking to Panam, her vision staring off at a distant place as she idly swirled her beer in one hand, her elbow on the bar. "Family.. Didn't have one for a long time. Wasn't until this prick tried to screw me over on a job that I eventually got introduced to what family was. After we reconciled and teamed up, that is. Long story, for another time." She smiled watching Jackie cook. V turned her head to casually look at Panam while she continued. Panam's arms were folded on the countertop, her attention on V. "I was raised by the streets. Dad was never there, and Mom died when I was a kid. I was in foster care, bouncing from house to house. They were only ever a place to sleep mostly, and eat when I asked for food. Got into doing odd jobs young. But, anyway. This guy was the first family I ever had. Then he introduced me to his actual family and his friends, or ..chosen family. And they slowly became mine. Started to finally feel like I found a place of sorts. But something...something is still missing. Trying to find it."

Panam nodded in understanding, "It's kind of what bein a Nomad is. We choose our family. Family comes first for us. We do anything for our family, with no hesitation, and never leave a family member behind. My clan means absolutely everything to me."

V nodded, "Can't, and won't, pretend to fully understand that feelin', cuz I don't. But I sure hope I do one day."

Panam smiled, "I hope you do too. Cheers to that." Panam and V idly clinked the bottom of their bottles together. "You're not half bad, V. For a street kid, anyway." Panam winked playfully.

V smiled, "You're not too bad either, Panam. Ya know, for a dirty nomad." She winked backand couldn't keep herself from giggling and smiling as Panam half-heartedly shoved her for the comment.

"Uh-huh. You try living in the desert and tell me how clean you look even after you bathe." Panam smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Really not doin' a great job of sellin the whole Nomad lifestyle there, Pan." V made a fake wince as she shook her head.

"Well lucky for you it's invite-only, and you're not invited to the party." Panam bobbed her head back and forth in a childlike manner as she spoke, finishing her beer in another pull.

V couldn't contain her laugh, "Yet. You forgot to include, 'yet' in that statement." V joked and looked back towards the food being cooked, not paying any mind to what she just said.

Panam took a moment to hold her gaze on V. She couldn't be sure yet, but V was good people so far. Maybe in time, and a lot of help on jobs with her clan. Maybe she would offer her clanship, one day. Just maybe. That's if V actually wanted to leave the city one day. Panam looked back towards the cooks, who were having a small sword fight with a spatula and a wooden spoon.

"She is much more playful than I ever thought she would be." V commented offhand to Panam under her breath, tilting her chin in Celeste's direction.

Panam nodded as she watched, replying under her breath but keeping her unbelieving stare on the two in the kitchen, "Yeah. The hard candy coating must've melted and the stick up her ass must have come free. …I do like this version a lot better though. If I'm bein' honest."

Many witty comments, crude jokes, and happy moments later, the food was complete and shared between them. V and Panam agreed they couldn't pick a winner and would have to have a tiebreaker at a future date so they could decide then. Celeste and Jackie were upset but both promised and were more than willing to hold a tiebreaker in the future. Another thing to look forward to. Something to succeed and live for, however small.

V ended up stumbling to the bedroom and collapsing on the bed some hours later, her eyes closing as soon as her head hit the pillow. She felt the bed dip under the weight of a body next to her soon after. V waited with apprehension, wondering if Celeste was going to make a move, and how she would go about politely turning her down. She was mustering the courage to either turn or say something when she heard a deep, drawn-out snore. Only one person snored like that when they drank, and she knew the specific snore well. "Jackie-boy you fuckin angel you." V smiled, lightly chuckling as she let her eyes close. Tomorrow, she would send her friends off and say her goodbyes. Nurse her sorrow, check in with Misty and Viktor, and then, the most important task of all. She needed to see a very important girl about a very important misunderstanding and hopefully get that drink date back on.

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Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you enjoyed it. See ya next chapter.

-Fateful