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February 12th, 2078
V and Jackie stood over the corpse of their latest gig’s target, guns still smoking. V crouched down to search the dead man’s pockets, looking for the chip that they were supposed to retrieve from him. After a short search in his pockets, V fished out a shard, which she carefully pocketed.
“We got what we came for Jack, let’s fuckin’ delta.” She wanted to get out of this building with its sweltering heat as fast as she could.
“Don’t have to tell me twice, jaina . Worked up a mighty appetite on this job.”
They made their way back out of the building, bodies littered across every room they passed. The two mercs had a fast-rising reputation of being deadly in the field; Jackie preferring sheer might, V using subterfuge and her technical skills.
When they were back out in the sun that seemed to bear down on Night City almost year-round, Jackie spoke up.
“You got anything planned for your amor , V?” That was certainly not the question V was expecting. She did have something in mind for Judy, however she knew Jackie would probably spill the beans to her. It would not be the first time he “accidentally” slipped the details on a surprise V had planned for her.
“Got something planned, but I’m not gonna tell you. I know you, you’d ruin the element of surprise for her.”
“When have I ever done that?” The indignance in his voice was laid on thick.
“Let’s see… you told her I was going to take her to the abandoned drive-in theater. I had that all planned out and when the moment was finally there, Judy had the most trouble stifling her laughter. She knew I planned that, and you were the only person that I told it to.“
“She still liked it and that’s what matters, V.”
“You’re right. I would’ve loved it to see the look on her face when she found out about it, though. But who am I to talk? I’ve probably told Misty about something secret that you’ve cooked up for her a few times.”
“Like the time I made a fancy-ass dinner for her. You had to tell her why I wasn’t with you when you went for your check-up at Vik’s that day.”
“Point taken. I guess we’ll have to settle on telling each other how our surprises went.”
“We’ll have to, indeed. Later, V!” Jackie sped off on his custom Arch. V got onto her own bike and drove off, to Judy’s pad.
February 14th, 2078
“Misty, we’re here.” Jackie parked the car near the Mediterranean restaurant which was the place of their date tonight.
“Never would’ve taken you for someone to place a reservation at a fancy eatery like this.”
“I’m full of surprises, mi amor , you should know that by now.” Both of them laughed.
Jackie and Misty entered the restaurant and went towards the reception stand. One of the restaurant’s many waiters was ready at the stand to welcome them.
“Good evening sir, madam. Do you have a reservation?”
“I do indeed. Table for two, reserved on the name Welles?”
“Got your reservation here, table three. Follow me, please.” The waiter turned around and walked to the back of the restaurant, then gestured towards a neatly made table. “One of my colleagues will be with you shortly.”
They sat down, lazily browsing the menu in search of what they wanted to eat. Misty had made her choice fairly quickly. Jackie, on the other hand, was still looking over the menu when another waiter arrived.
“How can I be of service?”
“I’d like the zucchini risotto, please. What about you, Jack?”
“I’ll have what she’s having, please.”
“Two zucchini risottos, noted. Anything to drink with it?”
“I’d like a NiCola Fire. What about you, Misty?”
“Water for me.” The waiter noted their order onto his terminal, then left.
As the waiter went to the kitchen to pass along their orders, Jackie saw that another couple had entered the restaurant. He couldn’t see who they were from where he sat, but he did hear the tail end of their reservation being confirmed.
“... table four. Follow me, please.” As the waiter and the couple approached their corner of the restaurant, both Jackie and Misty recognized the two women. V and Judy sat down at the table next to them.
“V? Judy? What are you two doing here?” Jackie and Misty spoke in unison, both of them clearly surprised by their arrival.
“Funny, could ask the same thing to you.” V had trouble stifling her laughter. She settled for an exhalation that was slightly too loud to be accidental.
“Booked a table here last week, guess you had the same idea.” Jackie looked at V with an amused twinkle in his eyes.
“Don’t think any of us here are going to complain about it. It has been a while since we properly caught up with one another.”
“Seems like this is as good a time as any to enjoy a nice dinner together. Maybe even share some stories about each other. Why not now, since we’re waiting for our food anyway?”
“Hold on Jack, Judy and I haven’t ordered yet. Ah, speak of the devil; there’s the waiter.” The waiter took their orders and returned to the kitchen. Right after their waiter had left again, V resumed their initial conversation.
“Since you suggested the story time, how about you go first?”
“Sure thing, V.” Jackie had a slightly mischievous smile on his face, as if the story he had in mind was going to be a funny one about her.
Jackie spoke up: “I have a good one about V. She had to infiltrate a dollhouse for a gig, so she posed as a customer in order to gain easy access. The lady at reception profiles her, makes a selection of dolls that would fit her, the usual. However, V being the gonk that she is, chose the dude by accident. Oh, what I would’ve given to see the look on her- ow, V!” V had interrupted him rather rudely with an elbow to the ribs. She shot a quick glance towards Judy, who was silently shaking with laughter, before looking back at Jackie.
“Still completed the gig, didn’t I? Not going to let a doll get in the way of that simply because he's a guy."
“You rang me afterwards, though. Seems like you really wanted me to drive that out of your mind,” Judy said teasingly. She was right; upon completion, V immediately went to Judy’s apartment for a particularly eventful night with her. V, looking for a window to change the subject, decided that now was her best chance.
"Have I ever told you two," V looked at Jackie and Misty, "the full story of how I first met Judy?"
"No," they both said in unison. "But I'd love to hear it," Misty continued.
“I first met Judy shortly after the whole Dex fiasco. To keep it short, Dex was a fixer who wanted to hire Jackie and me for a gig to klep from Arasaka. But the whole biz stank more than this city's landfill in summer. I managed to talk Jack out of doing the gig. Had to lay low for a while after that, but before I hid, I went to the meeting he had arranged with the client, Evelyn. Figured that it wouldn’t be more than fair of me to give her a heads-up about Dex’ plan stinking. I warned her about the sitch, suggested she’d also keep her head down for a while. Judy happened to catch the conversation, offered to help her out."
"She's missing one important detail. I swear I could see her fall for me the moment I walked in on them." V smiled rather sheepishly.
"Can't deny that. It was a lot harder to keep my focus while she was around. If I wasn’t quite literally about to hide for my life, I would’ve probably asked her for a coffee together right there."
“About two weeks after that, I did ask her for that coffee. And here we are now.” V gave Judy a short kiss, almost as if to close out her particular story. Jackie briefly whistled before speaking again.
“You look like you got a lot of interesting stories to tell, Judy. How about you share one with us?”
“Why the hell not? And no, I’m not going to tell you a story about V; something tells me you’d expect that,” she said, lightly giggling. She took a sip of her drink, then started to share her anecdote.
“This happened about a year ago. I was planning on catching up with a few fellow Moxes who were working in Gomorrah at the time. They were doing quite well for themselves there, but it was when I walked out of the club that I really noticed something weird. A little dinky shop focusing on the spiritual, in Night City? Safe to say, that piqued my curiosity. As soon as I entered the shop, it was almost as if the city outside ceased to exist. All the hustle and bustle fell away to make place for a calm, almost ethereal melody. It truly was like I stepped into another world for a short time. One filled with various lanterns, candles and cat statuettes.” She briefly paused for effect.
“I don’t think Misty was there at the time, but the shop stuck with me. There was a certain difference compared to the rest of this city that helped it stick out of the fold. I didn’t stay too long, since I had a few important edits to finish. Haven’t been back there yet, but maybe soon I can find some time.”
“You can always drop by some time, let me read your tarot.”
“Thanks, Misty. I’ll take you up on that offer. On a different note, and if you don’t mind me asking: how did you and Jackie find each other?”
“I’d be happy to tell you.” Misty cleared her throat and started her story.
“Viktor asked me to come along to watch a boxing match at the Night City Devils one day. Said a good friend of his was in the ring."
"Excuse me, I'm his best friend!" They all laughed. Everyone sitting at those two tables knew that the old ripper had a special place in his heart for Jackie Welles.
“As I was saying…” Misty cleared her throat softly. “I came with him, mostly out of politeness, I’m personally not too big on boxing. Yet one of the competitors drew my attention immediately. His chakra was vibrant on a scale that surprised me; most people in this city have a rather bleak one.” She paused to take a sip of her drink.
“The match itself felt like it went by in a haze. One moment the first bell had just rung, the other, the judge lifted up the arm of the winner. He stepped out of the ring shortly afterwards to celebrate with Vik. I could practically feel the vibrant energy flow from him. Vik introduced Jackie and me to each other and honestly, I’m happy he did. I was drawn to his spirit and the rest, well, the rest is history.”
As Misty closed out her story, a couple of waiters finally arrived with their food. The two couples raised a toast to each other and tucked in. For a while, the only sounds you could hear from their corner were the clinking of cutlery against plates and the low murmur of amicable chatting. Not long after they had finished their main course, they tucked in to enjoy their desserts.
A couple of hours later, Judy’s Apartment
Judy and V sat down on the couch, next to each other. They both had their arms placed gently in the small of the other’s backs. The silence lasted for a while, until Judy broke it with a question that was burning on her tongue.
“This was a nice evening and I’d hate to ruin it, but I got to ask, V: would you have planned this on any random day?” V looked back at her with a slight look of surprise.
“What do you mean, Judy?”
“Was it an intentional Valentine’s date?” Judy’s emphasis on the word “intentional” elicited a short shudder from her girlfriend.
“I just…” V sighed deeply,” wanted to treat you to something nice. Had that idea in my head for quite a while. Today just happened to be the only day of the month that I could clear my evening schedule.”
“Don’t stress it too much, V. I liked the dinner, and it was nice to talk to Jackie and Misty again. But I wouldn’t want it to come from a commercialized, twisted form of love that’s peddled everywhere around this time of the year.”
“Me neither, Jude. That version of love,” V placing as much disgust in her voice as she could, ”is not real. It’s corps looking to make eddies hand-over-fist by abusing emotions.”
“I could’ve guessed that, but it’s nice to hear it from you.”
“What’s being sold out there is an illusion. In contrast, what we have is real, I’m sure of it. I love you, Judy Álvarez.” V wanted to take every last smidge of doubt away from her, and judging by Judy’s beaming expression, she had succeeded.
“I love you too, you gonk.” Judy took V’s hand and guided her to the bedroom.