V felt his stomach shift as the Panzer extended its landing gear when it wasn't suspended by its stationary dock. The machine creaked and whined, with a few pops and clicks as the majority of its systems powered down, leaving the auxiliary lights illuminated. To his right, Panam finished the shutdown procedure as both hatches opened at the same time, the air-conditioned cabin replaced with a blistering heat and wave of dust blowing over the convoy as they chose his place to stop along the way. Flat, desertland stretched outward for miles, dusted with the remnants of small businesses that failed to stay afloat in the last few years, the small town of Bell Mountain being reduced to little more than a shantytown. ''How much further have we got to go? This place looks. . .''
''Dead? True, but Saul and I chose this spot for just such a reason; there are a few odds and inns here, but the most important thing would be to refuel and check on our rigs to ensure they can make the journey.'' Panam's tone of assurance was always nice to hear. She hopped out of the battle tank, the acrid wind whipping in her face as she winced at the granules of sand in her eyes. V followed right after, scanning across the convoy to see the efficient nature of The Aldecaldos. V figured with any large group of people, that there would have to be a designation of authority and responsibility to ensure the day-to-day needs were met, and that no one or thing was left behind or misplaced. Mitch, Cassidy, and Carol got to work unloading their respective trailers with all sorts of equipment, and their souvenirs from Mikoshi on account of V's handiwork turning Arasaka on its head for a good few hours. ''Come on, people let's get everything unloaded! The quicker, we do, the quicker we can relax a tad,'' V watched in amazement at his partner's skills of leading, the role being destined for her. ''And why are you looking at me like that? Something you like?'' the smirk on V's face matched the energy of Pananm's more sly one.
Shaking his head and leaping off of the panzer, V strolled over to Panam, snaking his right hand over her hip, drawing her close and taking in her presence. He hadn't known touch quite like he did with Panam, and once he figured out through a few heart-to-heart talks with some of the fam(mostly Mitch and Saul in private), that V was essentially touch-starved; it made all the more sense to him once the merc considered his upbringing and the unpredictability of a place like Night City made the strong, genuine bonds he was able to form all the more important, or the most important one. ''Just taking it in, is all. This is my first time doing something like this, but also yes. That 'something' I like, just so happens to be you.'' V huskily whispered in Panam's ear, her eyes widening at the baritone in his voice. If he kept talking like this, she would no doubt be putty in his hands, but she had her duties to the clan first.
''Careful there, V. I know you're not trying to butter me up like that,'' Panam grinned from ear to ear, causing the merc to let a short, deep-throated laugh that almost became a full-on laughter fest before he threw a hand over his mouth to calm himself. Her left arm came to snake around his waist as well, her body turning as both of V's hands held her close, their hips practically grinding against each other. Panam became lost in V's eyes, his gaze drawing her in and beginning to zone out all other noise but their own heartbeats and their breathing.
''Well, butter itself wouldn't be enough for you, I was thinking more of honey, the only thing sweet enough for you.''
His words lit a small fire in Panam's chest, but she managed to press the feeling down for the moment, but she would definitely beat V in this battle of quips. ''Oh, really? I don't think I can be that sweet, now.'' the wind whipped past them, V using one of his hands to cradle Panam's head into his shoulder, not wanting the sand to get caught in those beautiful hazel eyes of hers. She leaned back when it passed, a small smile dotting her face. V nodded with a shit-eating grin on his face, daring her to challenge his stance on the compliment. She rolled her eyes, sighing.
Panam's free hand lightly gripped the back of V's head, her nail scrapping his short-cut hair tenderly as she drew him in for a kiss, craning her head up and parting her lips. Panam gently kissed V, alternating between nibbling on his top and bottom lip, drawing an exhaled laugh. Slowly, their noses rubbed against one another, V's tongue firmly prying apart Panam's lips and giving him access to her tongue, Panam's hands going to either side of the merc's face, her thumbs and fingers rubbing loving circles around his cheekbones and ears, V's hands going to lift her up by her rear, the firm, but supple sinking into the space between his fingers as her legs wrapped around his waist, both trying to get the other as close as possible to the other's soul. They parted for a moment, a thin trail of saliva breaking apart as they breathed each other's air in. ''You are to me,'' V simply said, causing the nomad's already flushed face to deepen at his words.
A loud, teasing whistling was heard from across the sounds of unloading and directions being shouted as the pair's lips separated, looking to see Mitch gesturing to the pair before shaking his head in mock disapproval, motioning for Panam to come over. "Enough sucking face with your husband for 5 minutes, we need you over here, sister!'' Mitch's comment drew the majority of attention to the group who, displayed different reactions to his statement. V looked on, uncaring, shrugging his shoulder as he hummed at Panam's hands still cradling his face, as Panam coughed, quickly realizing the situation the two of them were in before shaking her head and attempting to disentangle from V. Quickly dusting off her jacket and V's chest, she regained her focus, the steeled look of determination in her eyes coming back almost instantaneously. Her delicate hand came to rest on V's cheek as she placed a smooch on his cheek, slowly breaking away from their intimate moment together.
''Anything I can do, or do you want me to just stand around like a gonk?''
Panam laughed, the overexaggerated sway she put in her hips to tease V causing him to cough a bit. ''Saul could use an extra set of hands unloading his gear; we are going to be here for a week or so, after all. Think you can try and not to get in any trouble without me?''
''Yes, ma'am,'' Panam chuckled again as V threw her a mock salute as he sauntered over to Saul's area. V felt he could reasonably get the job done without incident; it was dealing with Saul, after all. Walking through the organized chaos of trailers, vehicles, and mid-grade machinery, the rough ground was felt underneath V's rather inexpensive set of shoes, every rock and dried piece of dead plant crunching with no end in sight.
After a few guesses, and directions from a brother and sister or two, V located the Aldecaldo leader in his command post, going over a few items on his tablet and having a few other members of the fam huddled around in a small semi-circle; appeared to be brief to V's eyes. The massive watchtower trucks were posted at their assigned sectors, far enough from the camp to survey their slice of land, but close enough to be able to send a signal to the camp in case anything undesirable had occurred. V had no doubt that the heat of the sun would end up being all the worse on them during their shifts. Walking up the steps, the last of Saul's conversation wrapped up as he turned around to face the merc.
''Hey, Saul, hope I'm not interrupting anything,'' V said, nodding to the 4 men who stayed behind Saul, tapping away at their tablets and inputting data. ''Panam said you might need a little help.''
''No problem at all, V. I was actually just finishing up a brief for the first set of scouting patrols in the area,'' Saul showed his tablet to V, the immediate area of Bell Mountain roughly mapped out by way of geo-drones, the different assortments of line and terrain features being remembered subtly by V with the free time he had to study his map reading and plotting skills; a necessary thing to know, Panam kept reminding him to be aware in the event of a loss or malfunction of cyberware. ''I've just about had the area mapped out 100 miles in each direction, so we can have a decent idea of what to expect.''
Couldn't argue with that, but V had a different idea in mind for patrolling. From what it looked like, everyone had something to do from setting up to security, all except him. ''Any foot or wheeled patrol lined up? Don't mind volunteering for one.''
If Saul's head could turn around any faster, V was sure it would have come off. Was he being serious? Patrolling? After the shit, he just subjected himself to? From Silverhand to Arasaka to putting a bullet in Smasher's skull himself, the first thing on his mind was to go patrolling; Saul wasn't sure if the kid was just plain stupid or devoted to the cause of doing good just because.
Panam sure knew how to pick 'em, Saul had to admit that much.
''You sure you're up for it? Wouldn't want to push any injuries any further than they already have. And, you know,'' Sauld gestured to his own head, nodding in V's direction. Oh, he was going there, was he? V frowned a bit, knowing in so few words what Saul was trying to. He wasn't a handicap, and he managed to still be a badass, even with the chip even more fucked up than it was now.
And not to forget, with SIlverhand in his mind wrecking all kinds of mental and physical havoc on his body. The sentiment was appreciated, and while V did not want to undermine the older man's wisdom, and by extension, authority, V knew his limits. ''Yea, no sweat. I'm good, Saul. Just wanting to do my part for the clan is all.''
With a glance to the other Aldecaldos behind him, Saul led V down the stairs and over towards a small picnic table where they both sat down, the glare that V saw out of Saul's eyes making halt anything further he had to say. ''You've done quite enough for your new family, V. You've helped more people in the short time we've known you than most 'Caldos manage to do in a few years,'' Saul's hand laid itself on V's shoulder. ''Raiding Arasaka as we did on account of your mission was something that only comes around once in a lifetime, and granted, we may have even ended up with way more than we may know what to do with now, I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.'' V, unfortunately, understood what that meant; his accomplishments were not played down in the slightest, the depth was to a point where much wasn't needed to be done right away.
''But, if you really need something to do,'' Saul watched as V deflated a bit at his earlier statement even though he himself didn't want to turn V away from some honest work, there was little to do. It wasn't grand work by his estimation of the merc's idea of work, but he was sure he would take anything he gave him.
Plus, he kinda had to listen now as his clan leader.
''Whatcha got?'' a light in V's eyes shone at the prospect of work. Saul's lips settled into a thin line.
''Resupply scout; essentially make sure the guys on overwatch have everything they need; water, rations, ammo, the usual.'' Saul's words hadn't affected V the way he thought it did, simply settling for a shrug of his shoulders and a short walk over to the nearest cargo vehicle, V taking his time to head out to his first stop. He had been accepting of all that came with having a family of nomads, which now meant to him taking on less of a load for himself and sharing it with his new band of brothers and sisters.
And Panam, of course.