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Jackie is a lot of things, according to himself and other people, but a fool isn’t one of them. This is why, when he and V get out alive with the precious iguana cargo, he knows: they’re going to be great friends. Partners, he says and he means it, even though they just met, even though he can see a glimmer of skepticism in V’s brown eyes even while they shake on it.
Jackie just grins back, and then laughs for real when the iguana has enough of being ignored.
So he’s not a fool, and he drags V home, and somewhere in between V being shy around Mama Welles and learning how to work together (Jackie underestimates how attached V is to trying to be stealthy, but they wind up in shootouts half the time anyway, so he’s not bothered), V starts to open up. Partners, Jackie thinks, and is happy.
Jackie learns a number of things about V in those months. In a roughly chronological order:
V is… shy. Or well, not quite. He’s not a very outgoing person, not like Jackie, and doesn’t enjoy big social situations. He prefers to hang on his own once in a while, just sitting around in silence, and okay, maybe that causes some friction between the two of them, but they figure it out pretty quickly. Once they sort out how not to brush against each other’s exposed edges, it’s like something clicks.
(It’s still hilarious when he’s awkward with Mama Welles, seemingly not sure how to take being welcomed to her home with open arms even though he’s practically a stranger, Jack, what the fuck. Jackie just laughs and lets him figure it out on his own.)
The next notable thing about V that Jackie learns is that, despite what common knowledge about nomads says, V is honestly, genuinely shit at driving. Jackie thought it was because they were being chased by fucking Arasaka in the Badlands at first, because that doesn’t allow for grace and skill, but no. That might actually have been better than normal. V is a fucking speed demon and apparently only has the loosest idea of how to actually control the metal death machine around the NC roads. It’s useful for getting away from goons with guns, yeah, but Jesus fucking Christ. It only takes Jackie one brief glimpse of V on a bike before he declares his own baby off limits. At least until they’ve got time for Jackie to show him how not to wreck it.
And speaking of goons, Jackie also learns that V in a fight is a thing of beauty. Their preferred methods—namely Jackie going in guns blazing and V quickhacking his way into victory—work really well together, so the two of them do as well, but then during the first of many gigs gone wrong (fucking Scavs, seriously) V is forced to drop out of stealth. Jackie is worried for about a second—and then V grins, throws a grenade, pulls out a monster of a revolver and puts his back to Jackie’s so they can cover each other.
That single fight, which they win, of course, convinces Jackie of one thing. Him and V? They’re meant to be in this merc life together. You couldn’t make Jackie explain it if you put a gun to his head, but he feels it in his bones: they’re going to be something great. Something to make even the apathetic hellhole that is Night City stop and pay attention. They’re going to be legendary.
He rides the high of that realization for a while, which is perhaps why the last thing Jackie learns about V takes him by surprise.
V, for all that he’s V, is almost shockingly smaller than Jackie himself. Maybe saying he “learns” this is not exactly right, he’d have to be blind not to notice the way he himself is literally, physically bigger in every sense. Obviously he knows. But that’s what it feels like, like discovering something for the first time, when Jackie looks at his hand in V’s hand and thinks, huh.
“What?” V says.
Jackie’s eyes fly up and he finds that V has been watching him stare at their hands where they're holding them between their stretched out bodies for… too long, probably.
“What?” Jackie replies. Defensively. Shit.
V raises an eyebrow at him. He seems amused, which is normally a good look, except for when he’s almost certainly laughing at Jackie.
“Something on your mind, big guy?”
Jackie opens his mouth to retort and… short-circuits. And yep, V is laughing at him for real.
Jackie groans and rubs a hand across his face.
This is embarrassing. He hasn’t been this flustered since he was a teenager. And they’re not even doing anything!
“You’re not being fucking helpful, V,” he says when V keep snickering.
“Who said I wanted to be? This is great. If I knew you’d react like this, I would’ve made a move way sooner.”
“I swear I’m better at this usually,” Jackie says, when he realizes he can’t reply to that without embarrassing himself.
So maybe he didn’t notice that they were steadily moving over the friends line. And maybe it took V turning to him immediately after a successful gig, looking him in the eyes, saying “I’m going to kiss you now”, and doing that, for Jackie to get with the program, but it’s fine. It’s chill.
(It’s the exact opposite of chill. There’s nothing to freak out about, but somehow Jackie still is. He feels too old for a sexuality crisis, is the thing, but here he is anyway. Here they are.)
(So maybe he is a fool, this once.)
“I know, Jackie,” V tells him, still a little amused, but not laughing. Probably reading Jackie’s face and, shit. Sometimes Jackie forgets how short ago it was that they met, with how easily V gets him.
That ease is probably why they’re sitting in Jackie’s (and V’s, technically, but they both know he’s moving out as soon as he’s got the creds, so not really) bed, instead of out clubbing or getting drunk to celebrate another successful job, another move towards their goal. V had taken one step back and a look at his stunned face, and dragged Jackie back here.
With any of his previous relationships, Jackie knows exactly how the dance would have gone. But instead, they’re holding hands. It's almost hilariously chaste.
Jackie isn’t even sure how that happened. He'd just looked over and gotten distracted by how strangely small V’s hand looked next to his, in spite of the fact that less than two hours ago he blew some piece of shit Scav’s stolen face off.
He keeps getting stuck on this. He knows why—the initial shock of wait, I like this is starting to settle and he’s having the revelation that yes, he is into how V looks, has been for a while, and wouldn’t mind seeing more—but he’s not entirely ready to go there yet. And for all his teasing, V is also holding back, so they’re on the same wavelength. Probably.
Eh.
“Listen, V—”
“We don’t have to talk about it,” V cuts him off. “I mean...” He trails off and shrugs.
Jackie takes a good look at him. There’s something shifty about his expression, like he doesn’t say that only for Jackie’s sake. Well, okay then. He shrugs back agreeably.
Then he sees the opportunity to get back into his groove for what it is.
“So,” he drawls, “if we’re not talking, what are we doing?”
V takes his—very subtle, thank you—hint and responds in kind, by sliding up from his slouch against the wall and closer towards Jackie.
The last thing on the list that Jackie learns about V, and that he’s happy to keep learning: he’s a real good kisser.