Work Text:
𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐎
V watched with half-lidded eyes as the sun started to set over the uneven skyline of Night City. The city that never sleeps.
It was a quiet day for her; something rare but treasured always. It was a reoccurring thing to stumble back to her apartment with aches all over - something she wasn't getting used to any time soon. So the days she didn't wake up to her phone buzzing in her pocket or someone pounding on her door, a smile never failed to reach her lips.
She knew Jackie would hound her for weeks - months even - if he ever found out V put her phone on silent more than a few times.
With a soft sigh from her glossed lips, V leaned over the edge of her bed, grabbing the acoustic guitar standing against it. Leaning back upon the wall opposite from the adjacent window, V sat the guitar in her lap. She suddenly learnt how to play better ever since Johnny appeared in her life. Although she had a lot to complain about the ex-rockstar, this wasn't one of them.
V heard the subtle clicks and glitches, disclosing Johnny's presence as he appeared in the room. He was in his usual place - leaning against a wall with a blank look across his face with those stupid aviators on. V glanced down as she positioned her fingers. Neither said anything to one another. They didn't need to.
The two noticed recently the shift in their silences. They seemed to no longer be stiff or forced, but rather informal and pleasant. Of course, instead of confronting the subject they were both aware of, the two decided by themselves that they wouldn't address it yet.
V gave the guitar a few test strums, hearing the cords were in tune and gave a soft breath.
"I had a thought, dear, however scary, about that night, the bugs and the dirt."
Johnny's head perks up, slowly lowering the cigarette he was about to light. Although it was an odd song choice, he didn't feel the need to voice the thought. He actually wanted to listen. Her voice was...good.
Holy shit.
"Why were you digging? What did you bury? Before those hands pulled me, from the earth?"
V's voice was so soft and gentle. Repositioning her fingers under a second, her right hand gave skillful strums across the strings.
"I will not ask you where you came from, I will not ask and neither should you," Johnny watched as the shadows from the evening sun accentuated her jawline and cheekbone. "Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do."
Johnny heard the song play in V's head, just as it did in his. It was a pleasant melody; a large juxtaposition from his own taste in music. Staring at the floor, he didn't fight the subtle smile stretching across his lips. With his head tilted down, he glanced back up at her, nearly adorning V as she was.
Since they both had the day off, V decided to stay in for it; ordering take-out a few times today and renting a few movies too. Now here she was in an oversized graphic crewneck of a 90s band (Johnny was really happy when she bought it, but he never told her...but of course V secretly knew) and black dolphin shorts. She seemed happy and content, not seeming to look over her shoulder for once.
"I knew that look, dear, eyes always seeking, was there in someone that dug long ago. So I will not as you, why you were creeping, in some sad way I already know. I will not ask you where you came from, I would not ask and neither would you, Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do."
V's voice intoned with the song perfectly (at least, Johnny started to think). Her head turned from the window, meeting eyes with him. Both listened in their head at the song, causing V to smile benevolently at the former rockstar.
"I could not ask you where you came from," her voice dipped down lower...more delicate. "I could not ask and neither could you."
V's head leaned back, resting against the wall. Blinking a few times, she returned her gaze out the window as the cool blues of the night sky started to settle in.
"Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we could just kiss like real people do."
Playing the remaining cords leisurely, V placed her hand over the strings, relaxing her grip on the instrument.
Another few clicks and glitches and V felt Johnny sitting beside her. Leaning down for a moment, V returned the guitar back to its original place. The two sat against the wall, just staring out the window at the dusk. It was a rich navy blue, bleeding into purple and yellow with pink clouds to brighten the sky once last time that day.
V wordlessly smiled, breathing in the tranquillity. She leaned her head to the side, resting it against Johnny's flesh shoulder. She noticed him tense for a moment before relaxing finally.
"I like the quiet days," V whispered tiredly.
Johnny looked down at her, pushing down the small temptation to kiss her forehead. Instead, he sighed modestly. "Me too."