Work Text:
Between laying low after the Militech heist and the stargazing trip, V was largely off-the-grid for almost a week. This wasn’t anything unusual and most of V’s friends and acquaintances understood it was part of the job.
That wasn’t so much the case when it came to family though. Ever since Jackie’s death, Mama Welles has proclaimed that V was the only son she had left now and if he was to go and get himself offed, he may as well be killing both of them. To keep her from worrying, V called at least once a week, no exceptions. One time he realised he hadn't called that week while lying in the back of a Maelstrom van, trying to get himself smuggled into their secret warehouse. V would continuously sonic shock the driver to avoid detection, all the while telling Mama Welles about how her chilli was an absolute hit with the Aldecaldos.
As soon as they reached the area with a signal, V’s phone exploded with notifications of messages and missed calls. He was glad Panam was driving, as the surprise burst was akin to a minor hostile quickhack which could be deadly at the speed they were driving.
“What is it, everything okay? Is it Militech?” Panam’s voice had a slight hint of worry. V told her about how he managed to find the stargazing spot, which earned him a lot of praise for obtaining the info that nomads could use to their advantage, but also a lot of scolding for ‘sticking his gonk neck out for something so silly’. He didn’t argue with anything aside from the silly part.
‘Oh, I’d rather it be Militech, Arasaka and Night Corp all at once’ V thought to himself, but knew that this is not the kind of jokes Panam took to - they hit too close to reality.
“It’s Jackie’s mother, I usually call every week.” V’s face paled as he scrolled through texts from Mama Welles, Pepe, Misty and Vic. At least he wouldn’t need to explain to the ripperdoc how he lost his limbs this time…
Panam couldn’t quite figure out why this would be such a big deal - family was everything for her as well, but these, what seemed to be trivial, obligations were not a thing amongst the nomads. This made her realise something else though - V knew all about her family, met them, was as good as part of it now. The merc made a lot of effort too - asking countless questions to make sure he understands the customs and ways they do things so as to not disrespect or offend anyone. Panam knew all about Jackie and how close he and V were, and how his death still hung over V, but she assumed they were just good friends. Guilt bubbled inside her.
“V, I am so sorry - I never realised you had family in Night City.” V was visibly taken aback by her apology.
“Don’t worry at all, I never mentioned anything and how did you know that my choom’s mother decided to adopt me the moment I rolled into her bar.” V raised both of his hands in the air, his common gesture that meant there was nothing to forgive here. “But now I have an important favour to ask, Panam.”
“If you want to crash at mine to let this blow over, you know the answer is yes.”
“Oh no, that would only make it worse. It’s quite the opposite actually…” He was looking down, almost sheepishly. “I’d better go there straight away and I was hoping that… That you could come with me?” Before Panam had time to say anything, V added: “No problem if not, just drop me off somewhere in Night City, I’ll get Del to drop off one of my bikes for me.”
“You want me to meet your family?” Panam’s expression was impossible to read, she made sure of that. Inside, she felt a mix of worry and excitement. She dated non-nomads before and meeting the family was a big deal. It often followed, way too quickly, by offers to move in, settle down and, ugh, marriage. Panam wasn’t worried about that with V, he was a gonk, but not a settling down type of gonk. It wasn’t even the seriousness of the act itself that got to her, it was the fact that she was worried if V’s family would like her. Was she deeper in this than she thought she was?
“Only if you would like to, no pressure at all. I am sure you have plenty to do at the camp anyway.” V was adamant to show there was an out if she wanted to take it.
“Of course, I would love to. I just wish you told me in advance, I’d wear something nicer.”
“You are perfect the way you are.” V beamed at her, putting his hand over hers to reaffirm he meant it.
——
“Yes, Pepe, we’ll be there in a few minutes. I have a guest with me.” V decided it would be good to let someone at the bar know they were coming, at least to make sure all knives were put away. He winced at an understanding ‘Oooooh’ that came from the other end before he dropped the call. “Ok, she is in. El Coyote Cojo, you know it?”
“You joking? What are we doing meeting an old woman at one of the main Valentino haunts?”
“She runs the place.”
“Wait a second, you mean to say your adoptive mother is Mama Welles?!” V’s terror at missing the calls became much clearer now. This meeting was not going to be a tea and biscuits affair, that was certain.
“Yeah, why? You heard of her?”
“Everyone has heard of her! Her bar is the only one in Night City where the “no fights, no shooting” rule is actually observed. I always wanted to go see who is the woman who even the trigger-happy Valentinos don’t want to cross. Just never thought that would happen like this!”
“I wouldn’t worry, you are with me so she will go easy on you, I am sure.”
“Like she will go easy on you for not calling?” V swallowed hard. For a second he forgot about that.
“I guess no backing out now.”
——
“Vincent! How dare you disappear on me again! I was worried sick!” Mama Welles was certainly angry, but not as angry as V was expecting her to be. Still, she called him by his full name so he was definitely still in trouble.
‘Vincent? V as in Vincent?’ It took a moment for Panam to realise Mama Welles was indeed referring to V there. Another part of V’s life she never really asked about. ‘Of course he would have a full name, you dumbass.’ She scolded herself quietly while V was being told off.
“I am sorry Mama Welles, it won’t happen again I promise.” V rubbed his shoulder where a barrage of punches that accompanied Mama’s scolding left a sore spot. “Anyway, I wanted you to meet someone.” He gently took his arm around Panam. “This is Panam, my… we are…” Why didn’t he prepare for this bit earlier?!
“His girlfriend, it’s a pleasure to meet you miss Welles.” Panam beamed at the older woman with her trademark smile that made everyone, V especially, melt a little inside.
“Please call me Mama Welles. If you are with my V, you are family here.” Mama Welles gestured for them to follow. “Come with me, queridos, let’s get you fed; you were clearly on the road for a while. Pepe! Get the mescal, this is a great occasion for it!”
They sat at a second-floor booth overlooking the bar - Mama Welles still liked to oversee what was going on. The food was amazing, Panam thought, gulping second helping. Now she knew where V was getting all his recipes from.
They talked for a while, Panam telling about her clan, how she briefly left and how V helped her see what was truly important when it came to family, to which Mama Welles nodded approvingly, and with understanding. In turn, Mama Welles told her of how Jackie first brought V into the bar and how V looked like a stray cat back then - no place to stay, no people he could trust, no rep whatsoever. The woman admitted that she had no idea what Jackie saw in that lost kid at the time, but trusted her son’s knack on seeing the good in people.
“And I am so glad I did. V is really like a son to me now. He doesn’t just call - he helped Pepe and his wife resolve some issues, fixed up our tech more times than I can count and even got rid of that slimy fixer wanna-be Kirk.” Mama looked at V with love and pride as she said it, the merc shifting in his seat, not used to receiving praise, especially in front of Panam.
Some commotion with a duo of Valentinos trying to rob a drunk corpo downstairs forced the owner to leave them in order to restore peace.
“So…. girlfriend, huh?” V tried to put a brave face, in reality, he was barely able to contain his excitement and happiness ever since Panam said it.
“Careful now, or it will be an EX-girlfriend very quickly.” The nomad sternly pointed a finger at him. Her face softened immediately, with a content smile replacing the threatening frown. “I know we never talked about it, but I thought given I was literally standing in front of your adoptive mother, it was kind of silly to deny this isn’t serious…”
She tensed for a second, as if startled, but before she could say anything V cupped gently her hands in his.
“I am really glad you feel this way. I feel the same. The only reason I didn’t say it myself is that I didn’t want to impose it on you.”
“We should really talk about these things more, to avoid situations like this… we should talk about many different things actually.” Panam didn’t like feeling guilty, so she wanted to make sure she asked as much about V as he had been asking about her.
“I would very much like that.” V sipped on his drink, one hand never leaving Panam’s.
——
Downstairs, Mama Welles, having sorted the altercation by simply walking up to the commotion, leant at the bar, observing V and Panam from below. She didn’t want to interrupt them, especially as she knew that they would come around again soon, together.
“They look happy, don’t they Mama?” Pepe pushed a glass her way while pouring himself one.
“They sure do. I didn’t think I’d live to see the day when V would bring a girl around here. Certainly did not expect her to be a nomad, and a Palmer at that.”
“You know her? Is she trouble?”
“Heard of her, met her old man a long while back. No more trouble than V gets himself in on his own. She looks like she can handle herself, he desperately needs someone like that by his side. They were watching over each other with Jackie, but with him gone I was afraid V would find himself alone when it was too late and do something stupid.” Mama Welles glanced over at the portrait of Jackie on the wall by the bar. If this woman will save her from having to bury another son, that is all that mattered. “I will go back to them for a bit, can you give V keys to the garage when he comes down, please? I want him to see if he can fix the van.”
She smiled to herself as she approached the booth just as the merc-nomad pair were busy arguing over who was a better driver in a sandstorm. “This girl is a good kind of trouble.”