And now for SR4. About time, right? There's going to be a small flood of SR1-based ones after this, though.

"Hey, come here for a second."

Johnny raised an eyebrow, but set his gun aside and hopped down from the weapons crates. V poked him hard in the arm, once, then twice. "Rock solid. Good. Still not a hallucination."

"I could've told you that."

"Sure," she said, walking back down the hall towards the stairs, "but I like proof. At least I didn't try to grab your ass."

"There's always next time, right?" he threw back, grinning.

"Dream on, Johnny."

He shook his head and climbed back up. Next time could be a thing.

She poked him in the shoulder instead. He flinched, then turned an angry look on her. "What?"

He was in the middle of an intense pool game with Asha, and it seemed like his advantage was slipping. He'd never admit to it, but the agent was too anal to ignore any mistakes, like the last one he'd made scratching the shot.

V held up both hands in defense. The strange expression on her face disappeared fast. "Nothing, man. Just...checking."

Asha chuckled, and he swore under his breath as she got ready to take her turn. "You're falling fast, Mr. Gat."

"Bullshit. I've got you exactly where I want you." He turned back to V. "You, not so much. You want to talk or just go on poking the shit out of people?"

She whistled. "Someone's testy. I'll just exit stage right before I get shanked." Slipping out into the hall, she stuck her head back in. "Oh, and Asha? If you could thrash him, that would be amazing."

"I think I can manage that," she replied, smirking.

Asha won, but barely. V laughed at his scowl the next time he saw her, but he couldn't stay mad.

The next time she attempted to check was when they were both cleaning the alien weapons in the armory. He was wiping the damned peashooter down when she rested a hand on his bicep, playing with the fabric of his suit. It was enough to make him come to an immediate stop. "V?"

Her hand jerked back. "Shit, sorry."

He looked her over and she actually appeared embarrassed. It was fucking odd. "Still solid enough to pass?"

"Enough," she said with a small smile, reassembling her weapon. "I did consider going for your ass, but I don't feel like getting shot today."

"You wound me, boss," he said, grinning and more than a little disappointed. "I'd at least warn you first."

They're in the simulation after that, Zin surrounding them, along with more than a few large fires.

Getting as much height as possible, he stomped down hard, scattering everything into the air. V managed to duck around it, spinning before tossing a fireball, and made a clean landing next to him. Picking off the flying Zin had become a small competition between the two, and she picked off five before he could swing his pistol back to get the other four.

She punched the air. "Hah! Five to four!"

"Shit. Course you're going to win when you slip in to clean up my leftovers."

"Oh, is that the sound of a sore loser? Why I must be imagining things," she said, twirling her phasers before putting them both away. "I can't be hearing that from the Johnny Gat."

"Fuck you, man. I've got ten bullets for the next ten Zin we find. And I bet I can kill them all before you get off a single shot."

The challenge was out and she was ready to take it. "You're so on."

They hit the nearest Zin gathering, some flashpoint down the way from where they had started. His gun was already out, but jerked up when she reached over and grabbed him. His ass, actually.

V killed two before he was able to wipe out the rest, looking satisfied the whole time. "Solid."

She sped off before he could come up with something to say to that.

He got his revenge later when she was playing against Asha. It was only a round into their pool game and V was measuring her shot, balancing the cue carefully on her fingertips.

He didn't wait for her to finish. The cue went for his head seconds after he slapped her ass, and when it broke against the wall he knew it was worth it.

And the fact that he wanted to see her red-faced and gasping again didn't hurt.

They were doing their usual dance with a warden, dodging back and forth while balls of energy hit the pavement. V's moves were good, usually one step ahead, but it did something strange. Recalculated, or some shit.

It caught her in the stomach and threw her like a fastball, pitching her to the side. When she collided with him, it wasn't an issue, but she was wearing that embarrassed look again. As if she was unsure how to address any of this, when it was really quite simple.

He decided to try to snap her out of it. "I know I'm hot stuff, boss, but swooning's new for you."

"Oh, bite me," she shot back, amused. "It's not my fault you're running around in purple spandex. Was that seriously your idea?"

He honestly didn't have a clue, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. "You know you want it."

V pushed back at him, hiding a smile, and the warden roared nearby. The next blast sent both of them flying.

Later on, he was crouched on the ground, examining one of the simulation's generated weapons. It pulsed and shifted, drawing his attention long enough to distract him from the fingers brushing against the back of his neck. The soft touch made him tense.

His hand caught hers before she could remove it, and she tried to stay neutral. "Last time, I swear."

"It's cool, boss." He squeezed her hand and let it go. "Old habits."

"Got a little too used to that one, though. Didn't want to."

"Now you won't have to."

The statement made her look away, and she went ahead. He gave her a minute before catching up.

Her hands were all over him. Not poking, not checking, but grabbing at him. Pulling him as close as possible while also tugging at his suit.

The zipper to hers was already broken, hanging around her navel, and he took the liberty of touching every exposed inch of her. Wasn't difficult with it half-pushed off of her shoulders, and he moved it down further as he kept on exploring.

He sucked hard on a spot on her neck, and she ran her fingers through his hair, biting back a moan. It slipped out when he ground his hips against her, and she met him for every movement. It made him want to rip the rest of the suit off of her.

"Solid enough for you?" he asked, growing harder by the second.

"You're awful," she gasped, kissing him. "You're awful and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Same here, V," he murmured, holding her tightly. "Same here."