Chapter Text
V woke up with a groan. Bright morning light and the distant sounds of Night City greeted his senses, worsening his growing headache. He scrubbed a hand down his face and sat up slowly, wincing at the way his injuries and muscles screamed at him to lay back down. Letting out a puff of air, he stood up, wobbled a bit as black dots swam in his vision, and cautiously shuffled his way to the bathroom.
The empty feeling followed him there.
Ever since...it happened, an empty feeling had been haunting him. It felt like a piece of him was missing, and every fiber of his being was itching to have it back. And nothing could satiate it. No amount of booze, or stims, or head-splitting club outings could smother it. The feeling had slowly eaten away at V’s soul, leaving a V-shaped husk left to yearn for something that couldn’t be returned.
V gripped the bathroom sink’s edge and sighed. Nibbles looked up from where she was licking her paw on the counter and mewed softly, making V lift his hung head to look into her bright eyes. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth when she returned to ignoring him. She was the same through it all, unlike V. Looking into the mirror, V could see the toll the last few months had taken on him. Hell, he could see what yesterday alone did to him. Bandages were wrapped around his chest and arms, and whatever wasn’t covered in a layer of synthetic cotton was decorated with cuts and bruises. Clearing out a Scav nest isn’t as easy as it sounds when the unfinished building starts to collapse and two cyberpsychos emerge from the chaos. According to Vik, V was damn lucky to make it out with so few injuries.
V’s eyes trailed down to his forearm where a nasty bruise had formed around the divet of his elbow. He slowly ghosted his fingers over it until he reached the tattoo. It was a stupid memento from when Johnny took over his body for the first time. The asshole decided to put both their names in a heart with an arrow through it. Only a sarcastic bastard high and drunk off his ass would do that. And only a sentimental gonk would keep it.
V traced over the lines absentmindedly until a knock interrupted his thoughts. Nibbles’ head snapped up, her ears perked up and swiveling.
“Who is it?” V whispered, as if she could answer. She ignored him, and instead hopped down from the counter and made a beeline to the front door. V watched as she pawed at it, meowing persistently, and then turned her head to stare at V expectantly.
Weird.
After grabbing a hidden pistol from above his computer desk, V slowly approached the door. Between Nibbles’ weird behavior and the unannounced stranger at his door, V couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation. No one came to V’s apartment, especially unannounced. No one besides Misty or Vik even knew where V’s apartment was. Whoever this stranger was was a threat.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he pressed his back against the wall and readied his stance to shoot. The person on the other side knocked again, louder than the last time, and Nibbles meowed louder in response. All the red flags were there, but V would be damned if he said his damned curiosity wasn’t gnawing at him. Hopefully he wouldn’t regret giving in to it.
“Who’s there,” he called out gruffly, his forefinger itching to jump to the trigger.
“Guess.”
V’s breath caught as a name flashed in his mind. But no, it couldn’t be. He skipped town months ago, saying something about needing a fresh start. V hadn’t taken him seriously when he had drunkenly announced his plan at their Kabuki hideout, but by the next day it was apparent he was serious. No one had heard from him since, and it was obvious from the radio silence that he wasn’t planning on coming back. V figured that was all the thanks he was going to get for giving him a new lease on life and tried not to think about it since. Key word was tried.
V lowered his gun and faced the door, his mind and heart racing. It’s him it’s him it’s him it’s him the rhythm of his heart seemed to say, but his mind was thinking the opposite. No way could it be him. No way could it be him standing at his door after all this time.
V’s finger guided itself to the door’s panel, and after a moment’s hesitation, pressed ‘open.’ The door slid open to reveal a lanky, long-haired man with a pair of dark sunglasses on his stony face.
“Thought you’d flatlined in the time it took ya to get to the door,” his familiar voice rumbled. He even crossed his arms and shifted his weight to drive home the point that it was really him.
“Johnny,” V breathed.