The Lovers (Johnny Silverhand X Male V)

New Life

A/N: Raven if you're reading this please don't kill me Kerry's fine I promise 🥲

"What?!" V shouted, allowing Misty to grab his hand and lead him down to Viks clinic. Behind the chair, Vik had the body out of its freezer and on a table. He was dresses in actual clothes now, some oldie stuff Vik dug out to put on the body until it was ready. "Vik! Is he ready?" V asked, gripping the box so tight that his knuckles turned ghostly white.

"Indeed he is, but there's some things we gotta go over first.. Sit." Vik replied, gesturing to a nearby chair. V sat down, the box in his lap. "So.. It may take a day or two for him to actually wake up. And there's always the possibility of him not remembering beyond 2023. So we're gonna have to move him some place safe, some place smaller where he can be under 24 hour supervision." Vik began, V nodded vigorously.

"We'll put him in my place, I just won't be accepting jobs for a while." He volunteered, Vik cocked an eyebrow before continuing. "Alright.. And then there's the configuration issue. He may need help for a week or so, his chip is so used to being either partially in control or not in control, that having a body of his own may overpower his stimulation sensors. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, they may be too much for him." He said, V took a mental note of every detail.

"Got it.. So no Johnny Silverhand activities until the over stimulation goes away?" V asked, Vik nodded. "Exactly. Now you have to ask yourself, if he's forgotten you, what are you going to do?" Vik asked, V paused.

"I... I didn't think that far ahead." V replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I'll figure it out depending on his reaction.."

"If you say so, kid. Now, let's get him in your apartment." Vik replied, getting up and helping V move Johnny's body into a wheelchair.

"Actually I'll go with V, doc." Misty interjected, Vik shrugged. "I guess it's better that way, in case anyone comes in. I'll see ya V." Vik said, V pulled him into a hug as he passed by the Merc.

"Thank you so much, Vik. I owe ya the world.." V said softly, Vik hugged back like an awkward father. "You don't owe me a thing, kid. Just don't get yourself killed... Again." Vik replied, making the Merc chuckle at his little joke.

On the short drive back to V's complex, Misty fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater. Clearly something was bothering her. "You okay, Mist?" V asked, Misty looked up at the road in front of her.

"I was just wondering something.. If you could so easily put Johnny in soul killer and take him back out... Could the same be done to Jackie?" She asked, her las sentence barley above a whisper. V shrugged.

"I.. Have no clue. He'd have to be in soul killer in the first place, and who knows if Arasaka somehow got ahold of his soul before mama Welles had him cremated." V answered, misty looked back down at her hands, at the bracelet made out of Jackie's favourite chain that mama Welles had gifted her.

"I miss him.." She said softly, V put his car in park in the mega building parking lot before hugging his friend. "I do too, Mist... Every day." V replied, Misty smiled through her tears as she pulled away from the hug.

Looking back at the body in V's back seat, the chip beside it, Misty patted the chips case. "Be good to my Vic, Rocker." She joked, V smiled and shook his head.

Once the two had Johnny's body in V's room, V carried it to his bed. Carefully laying it out, he couldn't help but observe Johnny's face.

"It's weird seeing him.. Not in my brain." V commented as he made his way over to the case.

"It's weird seeing him at all... What was he like before you separated in mikoshi?" Misty asked, V checked the chips integrity before opening the case.

"He was.. Caring. In his own weird way. He cared about keeping me alive, about keeping our loved ones alive... He stopped thinking about smashing Arasaka. All he cared about was my survival." V said, opening the case and looking at the red chip.

"I'm having the weirdest case of Deja vu..." V murmured as he took the chip and walked back over to Johnny's body.

"How will we know if it works?" V asked, looking back at misty. "Doctor Vektor said that the data reader in his ocular system will glow, just like us." Misty informed, V nodded and took a deep breath.

Slotting the chip in, it synched with Johnny's Neuro port. The data reader began to glow under his eyelids. "Oh my god it worked" V said, Misty smiled.

"It did.. Now hopefully he remembers you. And how wonderful you are, Victerio." She replied, hugging V before taking her leave.

V sat beside Johnny's body in bed, holding his metal arm. "Wake up soon, wanna show you Arasaka with their tails between their legs." V said, nibbles jumped up on Johnny's chest and began to sniff the new life form in her domain.

"Nibbles..." V sighed, picking up the cat and setting her down beside Johnny on the other side of the bed. Nibbles meowed in protest, but V ignored it. Sitting up and closing the blinds to his window, V stripped from his street clothes and into a tattered samurai shirt that was two sizes too big on him, clearly a shirt he snagged from Jackie's closet when they were living together.

He didn't care that it was only 3 pm, he was staying in. Brushing out his hair, V tied a bandana around his hairline to keep his hair out of his eyes. He even took out his favorite X contacts, letting his blue eyes breathe.

"It shouldn't be hard, staying in." He told himself, knowing that was a lie. Lying around and doing nothing had become a worse task than Merc work, and lying around doing nothing while dressed down was even worse.

"Really need to touch up my dye.." He murmured, noticing the blue and red dye had almost completely faded. Leaving his hair the plain black color he was born with.

Leaving the bathroom, V sat on the couch and grabbed the guitar Kerry had gifted him. For three weeks he practiced actually playing it, all he could really play was the beginning notes to Archangel and never fade away.

Practicing some more, V couldn't stop glancing up at Johnny's body. Nothing.

"This is gonna be a long one to two days, Nib."