Chapter Text
It must have been days since V had heard from Wakako. It probably was the longest time they have ever not heard from the fixer since they had begged her getting gigs in general. V wondered if it was because Wakako had seen them directly after the last gig. To be fair: the teen hadn’t been in the best shape after they had helped Darren getting out of that bungalow and when Wakako had called. Perhaps it hadn’t been too bad if Wakako hadn’t called before because of that. V would be lying if they said that the image of the shot man wasn’t haunting them. It did. Still, they saw it before them. But it wasn’t too bad, they could handle it, they would overcome that. No reason for them to cancel their plans now.
But they had been glad that there had been days off. First, they had thought that their life could never be normal after the last gig. Surprisingly, it felt pretty normal again and right back to the regular. They had lived their days like before. Some school, wasting time, avoiding their parents (sadly, they had to spend time with them and meet other Arasaka people) and just in general thinking about things that didn’t involve shooting people.
Nevertheless, V had grown restless as the fixer had made herself rare. And as she had finally called, V didn’t care what kind of gig she had for them in the end. Although … there was this small, lingering fear dwelling in them that it might end like the last time. There was a chance that this would become their life. It was a merc’s life after all. And you would probably get used to it. But for now … V could handle it if needed. Luckily, it was none of that. The load it took of V’s mind was huge. No people needed to be freed. No one needed to be assassinated (and actually, it would surprise V if Wakako would give them an assassination job). As far as they knew they had just to get a shard. Easy as that.
The only part, that might be a little … well … steamy was, that the shard was currently at the Clouds. V wasn’t nervous because of the gig per se, the location just felt forbidden and naturally, they had never been there before. The megabuilding alone felt odd. V had seen a lot of them, of course. They looked down at them from home, you saw them left and right, but that didn’t mean that the teen had really entered one. Curiously, V scanned people as they made their way up there before they followed. And then they stood inside the Clouds. To be honest: they had expected more. Not sure what exactly, but just somehow more than this. The entrance looked pale. Which was an achievement if you keep all those commercial-holos and bright neon colours in mind. Or did it look cheap? One of both. It had the feeling of a forbidden, dirty establishment, although Joytoys and sex, in general, was nothing out of the ordinary in Night City. You saw it at every corner, everywhere, every channel, every advertising banner. It was omnipresent and yet it had a weird feel to it.
V looked around. It was pretty empty. Somehow, they had expected more people around. Still looking, they walked to the counter. A woman was standing behind, looking at the screen, until she mustered them: »Welcome to Clouds. Where we know what you’re looking for.«
V wasn’t too sure about that: »I am looking for Fawn?«
»There is a great variety of dolls at Clouds«, the receptionist said. »This way we can ensure to find the right fit for you and your needs.«
The teen stared at them. The nice smile on her colourful lips was putting them off. It was this casual nice-business smile. The Clouds was in the end nothing else, right? A business. »I totally believe that, no doubt. But I really only want to meet Fawn.«
For a moment she just looked at them. They both knew that they were annoyed by the other. They had to say what they said and couldn’t (or didn’t want to) compromise. »Let me check if Fawn is available.« Some typing and very short checking: »It seems that she is not available for any clients right now.«
»Is she here right now?«
She hesitated. »I am not allowed to give you this information, I am deeply sorry.« That was fine. Her reaction had been answer enough for V. So, Fawn was here.
»Okay, listen… I’ll wait for Fawn until she is free again. We really have something to discuss.«
»Well, unfortunately, I cannot say how long that will take«, the woman said. With one hand she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. » But you can just jack in and we will find another match for you. Our dolls can change their appearance to your liking even though it might not be Fawn you are with.«
V’s eyes fluttered towards the gadget. »Listen, I am not a client. I-« They stopped. The way the receptionist looked at them it was pretty obvious that this would lead to nowhere. »Fine«, they sighed and stepped closer for jacking in. V hesitated.
Was there an age restriction? Had they to be of legal age to be here? They didn’t dare to ask, not causing problems because they were overthinking. They might not look underage(by now they were in this weird phase where you just couldn’t be sure if people were already in their twenties or still underage. Both seemed fitting at the same time) but them jacking in would probably reveal the necessary data. Nevertheless, they complied. What was the alternative anyway?
Their vision flickered while a scan was also running and a GUI appeared before their eyes. Rows left and right showed multiple doll-faces. »The system will check for desires, wishes and more to match you with the perfect doll«, the woman said. V’s eyes quickly scanned for Fawn’s name.
There it was. On the left, at the very bottom. Strained, they stared at the profile picture. If they just concentrated long and hard enough, perhaps… that was enough. They ground their teeth in tension until the matching process was done and a few doll-profiles popped up. Both male and female. »The matching process is done. You may choose your doll for now.«
V almost sighed out loudly. Fawn’s profile was there. Might not be the perfect-est match, as her profile was rather at the end, but that was fine. Didn’t matter. »I’ll take Fawn!«, they quickly said, sounding way too overexcited.
The woman raised a brow. »As I had told you before, Fawn isn’t available right now. I am very sorry that the system even suggested her. Do you-«
»No, no, that’s fine. I’ll wait!«, V said quickly. They didn’t want to choose a different doll. They had to talk to Fawn. »I’ll take a drink or something.« Quickly they jacked out, no chance of choosing any differently now.
»Okay, if you wish«, she nodded. »You may deposit any weapons before you enter. Fawn will check on you and bring you to booth seven as soon as possible.«
»Thank you, very much.« V paid, and quickly moved further. They didn’t want any more questions or possible problems. They got rid of their weapon and walked in. Inside it was even brighter. More lights flickered, everything was coloured in a tint of pink and red, some violet here and there. V wasn't naïve or prude in any way. Hell, these times you hardly could be a prude at all. Sexualized commercials and series and shows and books were everywhere, you could hardly escape them. And V was a teen. It was actually safe to say, that it had never been easier getting in contact with porn ever before. They knew how things worked, they had seen a lot, but the constant moaning, blissful, electrical orgasmic screaming of women (it probably only was a commercial. The booths looked soundproof as far as V could tell) was loud and caught V kind of off guard. They felt their cheeks blush. Their eyes wandered around. They might be here for a job, but it was a first and they were curious. For a second they almost lost them in the surrounding, wanting to see as much as they could. Who could know when they would see something like this place again? Not too soon probably.
Overwhelmed, V stood in the middle of the corridor, until they managed to call them back to reason. Keep the head in the game, V! The receptionist had said that Fawn would be in booth seven. V walked around, searching for the respectable booth. When they had found it, they stopped and hesitated. The glass door was milky, you couldn’t see inside. But V knew for a fact that someone was in there with Fawn. Did they really want to take the risk and walk into something? Or should they better wait? V glanced over their shoulders and took a breath. Better they brought it over them as fast as possible.
They opened the door and walked in fast. The door slid shut behind them. The room felt almost empty. The lights were dim, a mysterious violet colour. A huge, comfy looking bed with ugly bedsheets stood in the middle of the room. On its edge sat a woman, legs spread wide, her eyes fixated on the (apparently) doll dancing before them. V felt relieved. They hadn’t walked into something too major. Neither of the women seemed to notice them at first. The teen walked closer, coughing loudly: »Sorry.«
The sitting woman’s head flew around and she gasped, staring at them in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. The doll was still dancing, barely paying any attention to V. »What the hell are you doing in here, you little weirdo!« The woman jumped to her feet. Yep, she really looked angry.
V raised their hands, took a step back: »I didn’t want to interrupt. But I have to talk to Fawn!« The doll stopped now. »It’s just gonna be a second. I’m not a client!«
»Yeah sure«, the woman didn’t seem to believe them. »I’m gonna get you kicked out of here!« Sharply one of her chrome fingers hit V’s shoulder. It kinda stung.
»No, please. I don’t want any trouble!« V felt embarrassed, they were basically begging by now. It greatly went against their pride. Disgraceful. »I’ll just need five minutes. Here, I’ll pay you for the minutes, get yourself a drink. As soon as you're finished, I’ll be already gone!« V hoped that this would work. The woman’s eyes lit in a light blue as V transferred a huge amount of money. It was way too much, they knew that. For that amount of money, she could buy multiple dolls at once for multiple days if she wanted. But the teen hoped that the sheer amount of money would convince her just enough. Luckily, they were right. The woman stopped, seemed to think about it and nodded. »One drink and when I come back, you better be gone!«
V nodded and looked after the woman as she left. Their heart was still fluttering, but they didn’t feel as tense anymore. »Fawn«, they said, turning their attention towards the doll. They came closer. So far the doll hadn’t said a single word and as V came closer, they softly grabbed them by the hand and guided them to the bed. The woman had sat here before, V could still feel the warmth of her body on the mattress. And again the doll began dancing. Elegantly her body moved, her hands stroking over her own curves. Her eyes laid on V. The teen felt it almost burning on them. Although her eyes and she herself were beautiful, it was making them uncomfortable. They looked at their feet, avoiding her gaze. They swallowed hard. They had been overwhelmed before, but this was worse. Their heart was racing, their skin tingling and as Fawn bent over and lightly touched their knee, V felt like they might be one fire. Their throat was dry as the Badlands all of sudden. They felt their heartbeat even in their ears. »I-eh … I don’t«, they stammered, having a hard time keeping their thoughts in line. Their gaze was still on her hand on their leg. The skin was smooth, the fingers delicate.
As Fawn leaned in further, they got a look at her perfect cleavage and V held their breath. Fawn’s breath was warm against their ear and cheek as she whispered in their ear: »I know.« V felt as if their brain short-circuited. Wait, what. Had they heard right? What? Their eyes opened wider, they turned their head a tiny bit. They caught a glimpse of Fawn's wide grin. »I am just fucking with you«, giggled Fawn and moved back. »I know who you are. You are here for the shard, right?«
She took her hand off V’s, took a step back and gave the teen some space to breathe. V was confused. Their brain struggled to piece everything together right now, they felt like in pure overload. They nodded awkwardly. »Ye-yeah«, their voice was husky and burned against their still dry throat. »Am V.«
»Nice to meet you, V. You are pretty young for a merc, aren’t you?« Still smiling Fawn tilted her head back.
»Eh, yeah … I-I guess. Still figuring everything out.«
»No shame in that and you handled everything here rather well.« A soft giggle escaped her. She reached to the back of her head and got the shard, walking closer again. Her hand with the shard was between them now. »Here you go, V. Good luck with the job.«
»Yes, thanks!« Maybe V sprang to their feet a little too fast, showing how much they still were all over the place. Then again, it was just before Fawn and albeit V was still confused because of their joke, she seemed like a nice person that didn’t mind. She just had teased a teen in a dollhouse. V left the booth, checking for the woman from before (still nowhere to be seen), picked up their gun and as soon as possible they had left the dollhouse behind them.
The rest of the gig had been a piece of cake. It had been some climbing work. A little difficult not to cross the way with some gangoons. But as soon as V was up on the roofs, climbing like a monkey, jumping over fences, crawling through holes, it was rather easy. The shard soon was delivered to the agreed location. Job done, client happy, Wakako as well. V was given an additional reward (to be fair, so far V never cared how much they made. Must be their upbringing that they had no sense regarding money whatsoever) and was done for today. In retrospect the gig hadn’t been much of a deal, the only thing that had brought some sweat to V’s face had been the situation and Fawn herself. Well… perhaps, V was in dire need of a cold shower now.