#cp77nyex

“Promised Padre I would find his guy,” V replies, grimacing, “We only have a few more rooms to check until we can get out of here.” Toward the left of the pair is another room, one of the few that V hasn’t checked.

“You think you’re really going to find him alive? Gonk’s probably already-.”

“YES!” V exclaims triumphantly as he pushes the clear plastic panes aside, finally finding what he is looking for. Padres’ guy is strapped to a gurney, with barely a scratch on him. Seems like the guy got lucky; Scavs would have already made mincemeat of anyone else. But good luck doesn’t come without life kicking you in the balls. So, what’s the catch?

V holsters his gun, Johnny glitching to his side. “Look at you,” Johnny teases dismissively as V reaches over, undoing the restraints holding the guy down, “Playing the hero.”   

He doesn’t respond, but Johnny catches V rolling his eyes at him, the corner of his mouth tipped up in a smile. “Hey,” V taps the side of Padre’s guy’s face, trying to wake him, “You okay?”

The man’s brown eyes blink open, unfocused under the bright fluorescent lights. He inhales a sharp breath, taking a few seconds before turning to face V. A brief flicker of awareness flits over his face as he asks, his voice raspy, “You’re not-?”

“Nope,” V shakes his head, “Do you think you can get up? We need to get out of here before more Scavs arrive.” The man nods, allowing V to help him up. As he sits up, Johnny hears the man take a shaky, wheezy breath. Something isn’t right as the man looks pale, almost sickly even, a light sheen of sweat covering him. “Listen, I’m gonna help you down, but we gotta-.”

COUGH! V freezes, the man open-mouthed coughing into V’s face. “Uugh!” Johnny exclaims in disgust and horror, backing away from the sick man. And there’s the catch that he was expecting.

The man apologizes as V wipes his face. “I’m so sor-.”

“Stop,” V snaps, annoyed, “Can we just get out of here?”  

The man nods, allowing V to help him off the table. Guy’s unsteady on his feet as he lets V pull his arm over the Merc’s shoulder. The two start hobbling towards the exit, and Johnny’s stomach twists. His gut tells him something isn’t right; Johnny hopes he’s wrong. He hopes he is very wrong.

—

V coughs, a deep, rattling sound in his chest, as he watches a pair of Tyger Claws chatting below on the sidewalk while on a stakeout. Johnny frowns, taking a puff of his cigarette, concern etched onto his face. Ever since they rescued Padre’s guy, V didn’t seem okay. It started with the little things, things only Johnny could notice. V would take a little longer to get up, a little longer to react in a fight-things that could kill you in Night City. Johnny feels V’s weariness, the kind that settles in your bones and drags you down until you can’t move. The urge to sleep until your body finally feels better. V coughs again, and Johnny knows he needs to say something. “Those Tyger Claws are gonna hear you if that cough gets any louder.”

“Yes, mom,” V scoffs, playing off Johnny’s concern, “Next, you gonna tell me I should go to Vik’s. It’s not that bad.”

“Uh-huh.” Sure, it isn’t that bad. V tries to hide his cough again, looking over his shoulder at Johnny, who peers over his sunglasses as if to say ‘Really?’.

“I’m fine!” V protests a little loudly.

“Really? Cuz from where I am,” Johnny takes another puff of his cigarette, “you don’t look fine. You look like a gonk who's about to become mincemeat for Tyger Claws.” He doesn’t want V to become mince meat, perhaps out of pure selfish desire, perhaps out of something else.

“What am I supposed to do? Let Vik tell me to sleep it off?” V rolls his eyes, focusing on the Tyger Claws once again. He coughs, this one louder than the last. V’s body shakes from the intensity of the cough.

“HEY!” V stiffens, and Johnny knows those Tyger Claws have finally noticed V. “WHAT IS HE DOING HERE? GET HIM!”

The other Tyger Claw yells for backup before the two rush into the building below. “What was that about being fine?” Johnny snarks, dropping the cigarette on the ground and stomping on it.

“Fuck you,” V replies, giving Johnny the middle finger as the sounds of Tyger Claws coming up the stairs get louder. Maybe, he’ll finally listen to Johnny instead of being such a stubborn bastard.

—

Johnny leans against the Ripperdoc chair, watching V as Vik finishes up his examination. In the dim lights of the Ripper Doc’s office, he notes the dark circles under V’s eyes, the pallid color of his skin. Even now as Vik works, he hears the soft wheeze of V’s breath, his lungs straining. Vik sighs, pulling away from the computer, facing V. “You need to rest for a few days, kid.”

“I told you s-.”

“Vik, I’m not,” V cuts Johnny off, attempting to stifle another cough, “I’m fine. Your system is wro-.”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Vik is stern, and V looks like a wounded kitten at his harsh tone, “You’re sick; You need to rest.” Vik softens, concern in his eyes for V. “I know you’re worried, V, but you need to rest. I’ll give you some meds, and after a few days of rest, you’ll go back to running around Night City as a legend.”

V bites his lip, seemingly unsure of whether to listen to Vik. He looks like he isn’t going to listen. Johnny will have to give him a gentle push. (Or as gently as someone like Johnny is capable of.) “Vik’s right,” His hand comes to V’s shoulder, V relaxing under his touch, “Rest, you-.” His voice catches in his throat, settling on giving V’s shoulder a gentle squeeze instead. Concern wraps around his blackened heart, strangling any of the words threatening to spill out. Where general apathy and anger towards V used to grow, there was now something else.

Too tired to fight Johnny (another sign that V was feeling unwell in his eyes), V sighs, relenting. “Okay, I’ll listen. Do you have anything that can make me feel better?”

Vik smiles. “I’m glad you listened. Thought I might have to fight you on this.”

“Well,” V shrugs his shoulders, a coy smile on his lips as his eyes briefly flicker over to Johnny, “You can be very persuasive.”

—

As it always does, V’s illness gets worse before it gets better. When the pair return to V’s apartment after his visit with Vik, V peels off his shirt, revealing the intricate snake tattoo that runs all over his body. He kicks off his shoes, crawling into bed as Johnny keeps a silent, watchful vigil. Nibbles joins V in bed, curling up next to him, soft purring filling the quiet apartment.

A few of V’s friends visit over the next two days, including Mama Welles, who attempts to fuss over V, until V politely ushers her out, insisting on his sleep. Most of the time, V sleeps, sweaty and feverish, as Johnny watches over him. He feels what V is going through: the heat of the fever burning throughout V, the brain fog clouding V’s mind when he wakes, the irritation in V’s throat, the coughs scratching V’s chest, the deep ache in V’s muscles. Johnny wishes he knew a way to make this all go away, to make V feel better. He feels the same when V gets one of those Relic attacks, another courtesy of having Johnny Silverhand in his head. Mercifully, there are no Relic attacks, the last thing either of them needs. All Johnny can do is remind V to take his meds and drink some water every once in a while. (If Johnny were sick, he would just wash the fever out with booze and pills, but with V, he….he deserves better.)

On the nightstand, V’s phone pings, the screen lighting up the dark room. Johnny wishes he would turn the damn thing off. He knows why V doesn’t, not wanting Kerry, Vik, or Misty to worry too much about him. Amid the feverish haze, V rolls over, letting out another rattling cough. He struggles for a moment to find his phone, pulling it off the table. “V,” Johnny urges as V unlocks the phone, “leave it alone. If it’s one of your friends, they call or break down your fucking door.” Wouldn’t be hard to break down the doors in these megabuildings.

“I’m fine,” V’s voice is hoarse and rough from the lack of use and coughing. “Shit,” V swears, placing the phone down. He slowly pushes himself up into a sitting position, letting out a groan. Johnny feels the herculean effort, the weariness in V’s muscles screaming for him to lay down.

“Where are you fucking going?” Panic seizes Johnny, a sinking feeling in his chest. V’s in no shape to go anywhere; V will get himself hurt. He’ll get himself kil-. The thought stops in its tracks. He can’t think about that; he needs to stop V.

“Reyes needs someone to-,” V’s breathing is heavy as he tries to stand up. He wobbles unsteady on his feet, only managing to stand for a few seconds before collapsing onto his bed. Another rattling cough escapes him. “Fuck, I need to-.”

“No fucking way,” Johnny glitches in front of him, refusing to let V do this to himself, “You’re not going anywhere. They’ll have to scrap you off the fucking pavement with the shape that you’re in.”

“You c-can’t…,” V manages to stand, panting heavily from the exertion. His purple eyes are glassy but contain that fucking stubbornness that Johnny loves and hates so fucking much.

“I can.” Johnny’s voice is quiet, serious. When he and V first learned they were sharing a body, Johnny wanted to take control, to wrest it away from V to immediately burn ‘Saka down. What did one fucking street kid matter? Yet, as time passed and he followed V on his quest for a cure, that desire to take control faded. It felt dirty to threaten V with it, something that Johnny found himself unwilling to do. Instead, he places his left hand, the metal one on V’s chest. The static glitch sends a current through V, one that they both feel. It’s not painful, but rather comforting. Beneath Johnny’s hand, V’s skin is still warm, covered in feverish sweat. (He’ll need to remind V to take a shower later when he can stand on his own two feet.) “Lay down.”

“Why-Why shouldn’t I,” V argues back, his hand coming to lay over Johnny’s. The weight of V’s hand feels so real against his, the simple act of human touch reminding him of that gnawing desire to feel. “Scared of losing your ticket to freedom?”  

“No!” Johnny exclaims, V’s eyes widening at his declaration. “I’m scared of losing you.” Johnny’s heart pounds in his chest; he’s so scared of losing V, something he hadn’t wanted to face.

“I….” V is speechless, surprise and shock all over his face.

Johnny pushes his own emotions towards V, allowing him to feel what Johnny feels. Concern, worry, a certain spark towards the Merc. He can’t lose V; He won’t lose V. “Please,” Johnny begs, pushing V down towards the bed, “Stay in bed, Just for me.”

V relents, allowing Johnny to push him down on the bed. “Okay, I’ll stay in bed, but you have to stay with me.” V pulls him down, Johnny following him onto the bed. He settles behind V, spooning him from behind. Johnny wraps his arms around V, tightly tucking him against Johnny. He feels the warmth of V through the worn bulletproof vest. A nervousness seizes his heart, a nervousness that he might fuck this up. “Johnny?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t want to lose you either.”

—

It only takes a few more days, but V gets better. And when he starts to feel better, V gets antsy, ready to get back to the Night City streets. Johnny lays with him, V in his arms, whenever V starts to get antsy or when V wants him there. Didn’t realize V was so affectionate, even towards the asshole in his head. Tonight, they relax on the couch in V’s apartment, one last night of rest before V throws himself back into the thick of it. Johnny plucks at the strings of his guitar. Could he teach V to play guitar? Would be nice to have a real instrument in his hands again. 

“Hey,” V says, sitting down next to him.

The guitar glitches out of existence as does most things that belong to Johnny. “Ready to stick it to those corpo assholes again,” He asks, laying his arm on the back of the couch behind V. 

“Sure,” V doesn’t seem as enthused as normal, “We need to talk abou-.”

“We don’t,” He pushes V away, self-sabotaging again, “We don’t have to fucking talk about anything.”

Johnny feels another flash of anger in V as he frowns. “I want to talk-.”

“I don’t.”

“Don’t push-.”

“You were fucking sick; I was doing what you-.” V cuts him off, pressing his lips against Johnny’s, tasting like cigarettes. V’s kiss is passionate, full of unsaid emotions. Johnny eagerly returns the kiss, so starved for affection, especially V’s. His metal hand cups the back of V’s neck, staticky fingers tangled in V’s brightly colored red and purple hair. Johnny nips down on V’s bottom lip, as he opens his mouth for Johnny. Johnny dominates the kiss, even hungrier as V moans into the kiss. The sound drives him wild; he wants to hear it so much from V, could even compose a song to it. Johnny loses himself in all of this, any sense of rationale falling away.

Between fervent kisses, V asks breathy, “Is it true? Is it true that you’re scared of losing me?”

“Yes,” Johnny doesn’t hide the truth as he pulls away, he would be lost without V, “Don’t know what I would fucking do without you.”

V trembles, taking Johnny’s face in his hands, a softness in his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you either.”    

“We’ll find a way out of this,” Johnny reassures him.

“Together,” V swears, “We’ll get out of this together, alive.”

Where is this happening?

Tumblr; optionally on discord, and on AO3 for fic (and art) posting. Important information will be posted to the event tumblr. You don’t have to join the discord server - I can send you your assignment over email, if you say you want that when signing up. If you do join, I will be using the discord @everyone function to remind people of upcoming deadlines and such. There will be an AO3 collection.

How does gifter/giftee matching happen?

On a basis of offers and requests.

At sign up, you will first provide a list of characters and relationships (be they platonic or romantic/sexual) you offer, as well as things you will absolutely not create for.

After that, you will detail your request, again giving characters and relationships, and what you do not want in your gift (DNWs).  You can also optionally, meaning your creator is not required to take these into account when making your gift, put in Likes (tropes, characterization, AUs, aspects of the relationships/characters you’d like a focus on, things you like in art, etc.) and Prompts (any specific story and art prompts you may have). There’s also a space to put any of your V details, if you have a custom one/s - visual references, background details that aren’t in the game, etc.; these are again optional for both you and your creator.

You can offer and request fic, art or both.

You are only expected to create one piece. You may offer to create fic, art, or both, but you’re only expected to do one.

Is NSFW/18+ content allowed?

Yes. The game itself is 18+ and contains sex scenes, and as stated above and in the rules, the exchange itself is 18+ participants only. When you sign up, you will be askedif you’re okay with having your gift contain sex/be of explicit sexual nature (full frontal nudity included for art) or not. NSFW content is opt-in. Additionally, if you say ‘yes’ it is not guaranteed you will for sure get NSFW fic/art. Note that this is not a smut exchange so you can’t request only NSFW fic/art.

Is this game-canon only or are things from Edgerunners or the tabletop allowed as well?

This is focused on the game, but Edgerunners and TTRPG are both allowed. Though make sure to respect it if your recipient says they don’t want anything outside of the game!

Rules

You must be aged 18 and up to participate in this exchange.

Maintain full anonymity! Do not talk anywhere about who you have as a recipient and do not post WIPs of your work either on social media or on discord. Don’t speculate about who your creator is either. After posting, you’re free to talk about it wherever you want. (If you’re a writer who uses a beta, you can tell them, but they are also expected to follow the ‘don’t talk about it’ rules.)

You must request and offer at least one character or relationship.

Requesting a character and requesting a relationship are two different things. Meaning: if you request a character, you will get matched with someone offering that character, NOT a relationship containing that character. The reverse also holds: requesting/offering a relationship will NOT get you matched with someone offering/requesting one of the characters in the relationship.

Please specify V’s gender when offering/requesting them. If you do not, I’ll assume you’re fine with any/all possibilities.

Ships between two Vs are only allowed if you have at least one other requested character/relationship as well. Same goes for OCs, in a ship or on their own. This is to ensure there’s someone who can actually make you a thing.

Respect your recipient’s Do Not Want’s (DNWs). Failure to do so will get your gift disqualified (and send your recipient for emergency pinch hitting) and if I find out you did it on purpose/maliciously, you will be banned from any future rounds of the exchange.

If you don’t put a character/relationship/trope/etc. in the DNW section in your sign up, I can’t do anything if you receive a gift containing that thing-you-don’t-like. Please take care and write out your DNWs; a long and exhaustive list of what you don’t want is perfectly fine, so don’t be shy. Short is fine as well. Just don’t leave it blank unless you’re really sure you’re fine with everything!

Optional details are optional! Meaning: even if something is in the Likes and Prompts boxes, the creator is not required to follow them. The only thing a creator MUST take into account when creating a gift is: DNWs, characters/relationships, yes or no to receiving NSFW.

You may change your sign-up details at any point before sign-ups close. Do so by messaging the official tumblr or via discord (#help-desk) (discord is likely to get you the fastest response). After sign-ups close, your details are final and cannot be changed.

Matching is based on ONE character OR relationship. Obviously I will try to match people with multiple offers to those who request multiple of the same characters and/or relationships, but it may end up not possible for some. Therefore, make sure all the characters and relationships you offer are ones you’re sure you can create for - each one may end up your only actual option.

Matching is final! Barring any errors I may make (accidentally giving you someone whose only request is a character you didn’t offer), no changes will be made.

During the check-in period you are required to affirm you’re still actively participating. This will happen the same way assignments are handed out, either over email or Discord DMs. You should strive to be at least halfway done by this point, but it’s not required and there’s no penalty to being behind or anything. People who don’t respond to the check-in will be assumed to have dropped out.

In case you cannot finish your gift, please say so as early as possible. I don’t need to know why, I just need to know quickly so I can find someone else to create a gift.

If you can finish your gift, but need an extension past the deadline, reach out to me via discord DMs or email.

In the event that you withdraw from the exchange and then your assigned creator does as well, you will not get sent to PHs and you will not receive a gift. Sorry!

As long as you submit a gift for your recipient, you are guaranteed a gift in return.

AI-generated writing or art is banned.

Approach all with good faith. Straightforward rule: don’t be a dick.

Remember to comment on your gift! I’m not going to hunt people down if they don’t comment on their gifts (I won’t be keeping track), but please do remember that it’s polite and feels good to have the work you put in acknowledged. If you don’t have anything to say, a simple thank you will suffice! And commenting late is better than never, so don’t feel bad if you forget/get distracted.

FAQ

What is ‘DNW’ exactly?

DNW stands for Do Not Want. That is, anything that you don’t want to appear in your gift and anything you will not create. This includes: any and all triggers, squicks, relationships/characters/tropes/interpretations/AUs/etc. that for whatever reason you don’t want to create or receive. An explanation for why you DNW something is not needed or expected. Respecting DNWs when creating gifts is mandatory.

What is a ‘pinch hit’/’pinch hitter’?

A pinch hit is a fanwork produced for a request that’s in need of fulfillment either because there were no offers that could be matched to it or because the participant assigned the request withdrew from the exchange (or because, after posting, the work turned out to contain something that was DNW’d). A pinch hitter is the person who does the pinch hit - they may be regular participants of the exchange, or they may have signed up to be only pinch hitters. If one signs up to be only a pinch hitter, they will not receive a gift work.

My recipient has a mile long list of characters and relationships! Do I have to include ALL of them in my fic/art?

No. You only HAVE to make something for ONE of their requested characters or relationships.

I got a recipient who says they’re OK with NSFW art/fic, but I am not comfortable with creating NSFW art/fic, what do I do?

Create non-NSFW art/fic that matches their requested relationships and/or characters as usual. As stated above, NSFW content is opt-in and no one can request only that. Yes to receiving NSFW content is only relevant if you, the creator, are also willing to create such. Otherwise, feel free to ignore it.

I got matched with someone on one thing, but one of their other requests looks cool - is it okay to fulfill that request even though it’s not what we matched on originally?

It is! Basically, I just need everyone to receive fic/art for ONE of their requests. If you get inspired by something even if that isn’t what you originally offered, go on ahead and create!

Will there be organized beta reading for writers?

No, sorry. There isn’t a requirement that all fic be beta-read. If you really feel like you need a beta for your writing and don’t already have one, I’d suggest asking someone you know isn’t participating to do it for you!