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If he was being honest (and why not? Being dead pretty much erased the need for subterfuge), V would have told anyone who asked that he never expected to see Ray or Fraser again after they left. Not because they’d abandoned him or anything, but really, in V’s opinion the two of them trying to go back to Fraser’s home was a suicide mission. At least it was in Ray’s case. V was pretty sure that once Ray had been taken out of the picture, Fraser would probably be welcomed back, and after awhile he’d forget the Infected were anything but rotting, shambling corpses.
The part of V that had recently reawakened hated that thought. Hated it a lot. But then again, V hated the way the world was in general; what was one more bad thought in a world of ugliness?
So forgive him if he was a little surprised when Diefenbaker (and really, who names a dog that? Or sends one off to protect a corpse?) started barking enthusiastically the day after he and the mutt had split off from the others. V either didn’t know much about dogs, or just couldn’t remember it, but it sounded like happy barking, and the way the dog-wolf-whatever was moving around was almost like dancing. When he finally darted into the woods, V was unsurprised to see Fraser emerge from trees. Ray next to him? That was a bit of a shock, especially when Ray got close enough for V to see his bright blue eyes.
Then V took a sniff and the scent he caught was something he’d never encountered. Not Infected, not Human (but almost. So very, very close). And coming from both Ray and Fraser.
V caught Ray’s eyes, gesturing first toward Fraser, then Ray, raising his eyebrow in question. Ray grinned at him, the look almost manic, and grabbed Fraser’s hand, pulling him over to V. As they got closer, V saw it wasn’t only Ray who had changed. What the hell had happened?
“Fraser can tell,” Ray said. “Still k-kind of hard for me.”
So Fraser talked, and V listened. He was glad for his less than working-order facial muscles, as they definitely helped him hide the worry he felt when Fraser talked about Ray being a prisoner, and the possibility of him becoming some kind of experiment. But something must have shown through. Ray was giving him a look V recognized as gratitude, and Fraser was quick to reassure V that he’d never have let anything bad happen to Ray.
“N-not going to k-k-kisssss you,” V grumbled after Fraser finished his explanation.
The sound Ray made in reply was loud enough to startle V. It took him a minute before he realized it was a laugh he’d heard. He’d made Ray laugh. Huh. He was funny – who knew? V scowled at Ray, though, because he’d been serious. V wasn’t some princess in distress, and neither Ray nor Fraser was a prince.
But maybe, if they were lucky, there was some fairy tale magic on their side.