Work Text:
"My body doesn't feel like mine anymore, Kerry."
He swallows hard in the dark.
"It hurts just to be in it, I'm losing myself in pieces. And every time I see myself in the mirror...or when I try to hold you, or breathe, or just exist—I feel like I'm wearing someone else's skin. Like I can feel who I really am bursting to come through. And I can't ask you to be with someone who isn't even sure who they are anymore—someone who isn't sure about...."
Kerry's breath breaks, soft and shaky.
"V...I know. I've known for months." His voice is raw, but steady. "And I still love you. God, I do."
He finally reaches out—and rests a hand over V's. Holding him with a wordless finality.
"But the road you need to take now... I can't walk it with you. Not all of it, and not like this. If I did, I'd lose myself too."
V's eyes close. A few tears slip down his cheek, backlit by the pulsing life of Night City. His breath stutters in the mournful silence.
"Fuck...we really did our best."
"Yeah, we did." Kerry's voice cracks. "And we will again."