Chapter 42: Unprofessional

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

V does a little trolling and of course we have to see it from Rogue's POV.

-x-X-x-

Rogue purses her lips thinly when she receives a message from V letting her know he's dropping by now that the gig is done as a 'courtesy' since she wanted to keep this personal.

She briefly considers telling him there's no need, but in the end she bites her tongue. After all, Rogue had brought this on herself. When she'd first started hearing strange rumors regarding V's newest crew members, Rogue had been too damn curious to let things go.

In the end, she'd needed an excuse to have him bring his crew around to the Afterlife and when Nancy had contacted Rogue about what her idiot son had done, she'd seen a perfect opportunity and excuse for it. Technically this gig wasn't the kind of thing where the briefing needed to happen in person, but it was just personal enough that Rogue could justify it without it seeming suspicious.

… So why did it feel like V was onto her anyways? On top of all of the Silverhand-isms, on top of the way he acted like he truly didn't have anything to fear from her, Rogue got the impression that he saw right through her little game.

But that wasn't something he would have gotten from Johnny even if Rogue's crazy-sounding theory turned out to actually be true. Johnny had never been able to see through her lies… hell, he'd never really seen HER for who she was. It was why they hadn't worked out.

There was something different about V though, for all that he made her feel like she was seeing a ghost every time they interacted. Then again, with Rebecca Carmine's mysterious resurrection, she could no longer safely say she wasn't.

By the time V arrives back at the Afterlife, Rogue has sent Nix away and is sitting patiently waiting for him with Weyland posted up to the side just like always. V doesn't pause at the bar this time. Seeing she's not currently busy, he walks right up to her booth with a swagger in his step, giving no more than a nod to Weyland before taking his seat.

He's alone this time, Rogue absently notes even as V once again naturally and organically assumes the exact same posture Johnny would have, his arms spreading across the back of the couch like he owned it… and his feet coming up to rest on the table without a care in the world.

For a split second, Rogue finds herself taking in the whole of the young mercenary in that moment, all the way down to his shoes. Then, her brain does a stutter step, her eyes widening as she takes in the boots he definitely wasn't wearing before this gig.

"So, gig's done. Dan seemed pretty happy to get his car back along with the bootleg. I figured he'd appreciate-"

"Where did you get those boots?"

"-the extra effort. Hm? These?"

Even when she interrupts him, he doesn't stop talking. That's a Silverhand-ism as well. Looking down at his shoes, V tilts them this way and that for a moment before shrugging.

"Found 'em in the same locker the 6th Streeters stashed the bootleg shard and the car keys. I dunno, can't really explain it. They just… called out to me, ya know? They feel good. Right, even. What do you think?"

Setting aside the sheer cockiness it takes for a young mercenary like V to ask Rogue her opinion on his boots… she can't even find the words in that moment. Because those boots are a pair of Johnny Silverhand's old boots. She'd recognize them anywhere even after all this time.

She'd seen them on plenty of Samurai posers over the decades, but also… these in particular had definitely once graced the feet of Silverhand himself. Rogue knew, because they'd also graced the floor of her crib more than once a long, long time ago. Fuck…

Had Dan had them in the car with the bootleg and just hadn't mentioned them? Or was the 6th Streeter who won Dan's car secretly a huge Johnny Silverhand fanatic and collector?

In the end, did it matter? What mattered was that V had gotten his hands on them. And she believed him when he said how he'd found them. She also believed him when he said they felt 'right'. Fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Rogue? You good?"

V's curious and slightly concerned tone yanks Rogue out of her budding panic and reminds her of exactly where she is and who she's supposed to be. Getting thrown back in time over fifty fucking years wasn't exactly fun for her… but nobody in Night City cared if you were struggling. Weakness was never allowed.

She's tempted to drag V into the back and both interrogate him as well as tell him her theories right then and there… but in the end, she bites her tongue. What if he already knows? What if he's in on all of it and still working with Yorinobu? If he is, she'll just look like a fucking fool. And even if he isn't… how the fuck do you tell someone you think their entire personality might be slowly being overwritten by a damn electronic ghost?

Letting out a shuddering breath, Rogue forces a smirk onto her lips, doing her level best to present a wholly unbothered expression even as she half-shrugs.

"I'm fine. Just… a blast from the past. Take it from someone who knows V… those boots you're wearing once belonged to Johnny Silverhand himself."

She's expecting surprise. Awe. Maybe even a reverent look. What she's NOT expecting is for V to scrunch up his nose and tilt his head to the side.

"Who?"

For just a moment, Rogue's mind bluescreens. Did he seriously not even know who Johnny Silverhand was?!

"The lead singer of Samurai! The man who nuked Arasaka back in the 2020s! How can you not know who Johnny Silverhand is-!"

She cuts herself off before she can say 'when you might literally be housing his ghost' or something equally stupid and revealing. V, meanwhile, wears a completely blank look of total incomprehension for a moment longer before… he finally breaks and adopts a big, shit-eating grin.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. I know who Silverhand is, Rogue. The look on your face though…"

Trailing off, he looks down at his new shoes and turns them this way and that again while humming contemplatively.

"… So these are his boots huh? Neat."

She was going to kill him. She was going to strangle the damn life out of him. At the same time, a traitorous voice whispers in her ear that the young merc has fucking balls, messing with her like that. Impressively large balls that properly swing wherever he goes.

The worst part is, V's attitude is doing something for her. A feeling of warmth that she hasn't experienced in a long, long time is coiling up in her core even as she's grateful for the amount of cyberware she has in her face to keep her from blushing like she's fifty years younger.

Damn him though… toying with her like that was just the sort of thing Johnny would do to. Though at the same time, she had to confess that Silverhand would never in a million years get caught saying something like 'Neat'.

Letting out an explosive breath, Rogue decides right then and there that she's had enough of this whole situation to last her for a while. Maybe even a lifetime. With a simple wordless command, her eyes flash as she sends V his money for a gig well done, plus the extra that Dan had put on top for getting his car back.

"Just… get out of here, V. I'll call you if I have another gig."

Grinning as cockily as ever, V nevertheless takes the hint and swings his feet down off of her table, rising from the couch in the same smooth motion.

"Sure Rogue. Looking forward to it."

And then, just like that, he leaves. Rogue bites her lower lip as she watches him go. For just a moment, she sees Johnny Silverhand's back profile transposed over the kid, really messing with her head something fierce as he turns the corner and swaggers out of the Afterlife.

Only once he's gone does she look over to Weyland. Her right-hand man has a deep, thoughtful frown on his face.

"Well?"

Rogue knew at this point that she was way too close to all of this shit. She needed second opinions and she needed them back. Weyland was one of her most trusted subordinates so she finds herself waiting impatiently for his verdict and then hanging off his every word when he finally speaks up.

"… Kid's a good liar. Too good. You aren't losing your touch, I believed he didn't know who Silverhand was too for a second there. He doesn't have any tells so anything and everything he says is suspect. Hard to get a proper read on him. But… why let us see just how good of a liar he is? What was the point in that reveal?"

Rogue slumps back on the couch, letting her eyes drift up to the ceiling for a moment as she lets out an explosive breath.

"I don't know. I just don't fucking know."

-x-X-x-

V is all grins as he piles back into the Warhorse where Rebecca and Panam were waiting for him just outside the Afterlife. He'd been a little uncertain about messing with Rogue like that, but Alt had ultimately convinced him. How had she done that? Four simple words, really.

It would be funny.

And you know what? It really was funny. Probably some of the most fun he'd had since coming back in time, his indulgences with women notwithstanding. The look on Rogue's face when she'd registered Johnny's boots on his feet had been… true art. Her reaction when he'd pretended not to know who Johnny was though, that had been the icing on the cake.

And the best part is, V doesn't even feel bad about it because he knows Johnny would have approved. Maybe he would have pretended to be mad about V pretending not to know who he was, and he might have felt guilty later for pulling such a prank on Rogue, but in the heat of the moment, he would have been laughing his ass off for only V to see.

Alas, his and Johnny's time together had not been a time for humor or comedy. The fact that V was dying had put quite the damper on most sorts of fun or entertainment that didn't bring them another step closer to maybe finding a way to save him. It had been all business all the way till the end, no matter what.

But as the old saying went, all work and no play makes V a dull boy. Sure, maybe he was playing just a bit too much this time around, but with Alt at his back and his girls on his side, V wasn't worried. Nothing had gone wrong yet… in fact, everything was going pretty fucking well so far. So long as that remained true, he saw no reason to stop playing around.

"So, V… doing anything tonight?"

Panam's voice suddenly cuts in, pulling him out of his thoughts. Blinking, V looks over at the beautiful, tanned nomad woman. He can easily hear the hope and desire in her voice and can tell exactly where she's hoping this conversation will lead.

Normally, V would have immediately jumped in feet first to such a tantalizing conversation starter. Maybe he'd go with a 'don't have anything planned yet' to allow Panam to suggest they spend some time together like she clearly wanted to. Or maybe he'd even cut to the chase and answer with something like 'you' to see her sputter and blush oh so cutely.

Something stops him though… the fact that they're not alone. Specifically, Rebecca is in the backseat of the truck and thanks to the rearview mirror, he sees the reborn gremlin stiffen up and then start to frown in disappointment at Panam effectively beating her to the punch.

Smiling sadly, V reaches over and gives Panam's thigh a squeeze, causing her breath to hitch in response. In the end though, he shakes his head.

"Sorry Panam, not tonight. I promised Rebecca that we'd have a talk tonight."

The gremlin in the backseat freezes in surprise, though luckily she manages to hide that surprise before Panam finally tears her disappointed eyes off of him to glance at her in the rearview mirror. For a split second, he thinks the former nomad might suggest a menage de trois just so she can get more time with him… but in the end she refrains, slumping back a little in her seat.

"Sure. No problem."

V chuckles at her feigned nonchalance and doesn't let go of her leg. Instead, he rubs soothing circles into her inner thigh with his thumb all the way home, causing Panam to blush and slowly lose her mulish attitude by the time they finally part ways.

In the end, it's just him and Rebecca, alone at last. The short stack bites her lower lip as he raises an eyebrow at her, squirming for a moment.

"… You didn't promise me anything about a talk today."

Grinning, V shakes his head.

"No, but I'm very observant. I could tell there was something you wanted to talk to me about earlier today, but I had to cut you off about the gig. Sorry about that."

Rebecca is quick to shake her head.

"N-No… it was a gig from Rogue herself. You don't turn down things like that."

V can't help but feel a spike of amusement at that given he'd deliberately considered turning down the gig once he realized Rogue was playing games. While he's certainly glad he didn't now, he also wouldn't have regretted it even if he'd done so.

"Regardless… what was it you wanted from me?"

Hesitating for a moment, Rebecca finally tells him. Not just that she wants to fuck, though she tells him that too. But once she starts, it all comes out in a bit of a rush and V finally learns exactly HOW she wants him to fuck her.

And he has to admit… it is a bit of a doozy, even for him.

-x-X-x-

The Vote:

[ ] Stick with V's POV - 33%[X] Switch to Rebecca's POV - 67%

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