#riipperdoc

It felt so much harder to leave bed in the morning. Some days it was the mood just rotting him to his core, but there were a lot of days now where it was just the fact that Kerry really didn't want to leave Vik's side.

He just wanted to keep his spot there and never leave, enjoy the quiet while he could. Sure, yeah, whatever. You could point out the fact that he should keep up with his routine, do his yoga, and take care of himself. But he felt like he had to savor the time he had with his boyfriend.

Kerry was struggling today as well because of the steady rhythm of Vik's heart beating. It probably could've lulled him straight back asleep if he wasn't careful.

She'd be fine. She had to be.

Well-- well, she'd been awake before. So that clearly had to mean that she'd be all right. It wasn't like it knocked her on her ass and she stayed that way, that usually sign of some bad shit, at least that's how it sounded from the docs back in Virginia. He didn't know a ton about it, but he knew better than to just it back and do fuck all.

Thankfully, the new apartment wasn't a far cry from Vik's place. Not quite as close as it used to be, but still not a far drive. It hadn't been difficult for him to get Vae loaded up in the car and get her there. Vik sure as hell wasn't gonna be happy to see him, but whatever. He could suck it up for the sake of getting a look at V to figure out what might be going on.

With his black oni mask secured to his face and his aviators hooked into the collar of his shirt, Johnny got out of the car so he could pull V out of it. She was a little groggy, but in a state of consciousness, so he'd take that little win for now. Picking her up, he'd end up going through the back entrance of the alley, shutting the gate behind him.

With that path taken, it would take little more than a few feet before he made it to the oh-so familiar staircase. Taking careful steps down, he was cautious of where V's head was as he made his way inside.

Peering in to gauge whether Vik had a client already or not, he was relieved to find the place relatively empty.

Out of everyone she knew she had to call, Vik was the first one on her list. Even with that knowledge in mind, though, there was a bundle of nerves surrounding it. It... it'd been 2 years. What was Vik even gonna say when he heard from her? Was he even still there? Tomorrow was never a guarantee for anyone in Night City, even for a guy like Vik. She couldn't tell whether it was that possibility or some form of rejection that scared her the most.

Damn it... it'd be so much easier if Johnny had taken care of this shit for her. But no. Sweet as he was for staying by her side, he still had avoided everyone important in V's life like the goddamn plague. And so here she was. Phone in hand, staring at Vik's number in her phone with her heart thumping hard in her chest.

Sat at the the edge of her former coma bed, she was trying to amass the courage she needed to do this. It needed to happen, Vae. Just get it done.

He was a little antsy, that much was clear just by the fact that Kerry was there at all. Earlier in the day, he'd texted Vik with the invitation to pop in around the afternoon for his weekly check-up. Needless to say, plans had been changed.

Instead, he'd made the drive all the way to Little China like it was nothing.

Misty let him know that he should've been finishing up with his current patient, so letting him through shouldn't have been an issue. With that in mind, Kerry kept his disguise firmly over his features as he trotted down the steps and into the open clinic.

Part of him had been hoping to see V in Vik's chair, but nope. Hadn't seen hide nor hair of V in a while, and that apparently wasn't going to change today. Letting the thought fade from his mind, he'd instead ignore the client in general to put all his focus on Vik.

"Take yer time," Kerry would immediately assure as he stepped forward, a little too comfortable in the space by this point. It was far from the first time he'd been here by this point.

@riipperdoc

He hadn't been to a ripper in a while. Yeah, yeah. To his own detriment, he knew. With everything feeling like it was practically disintegrating around him, however, his health had definitely taken a backseat to everything else.

There enters V, who would one day end up mentioning his personal ripper. Dr. Vik Vektor. A pretty chill dude with a clinic all the way in Little China. Wasn't his usual scene anymore, but... well, it sure as fuck was better than pouring eddies into the pocket of some corp sellout. So, Kerry had taken the number offered to him and decided he'd think on it.