#v-team

At the sound of his warm, bassy voice directed towards her, V felt her stomach flip. As their eyes met, V caught sight of a raised eyebrow behind the dark glasses as he thrust his hand out towards her, leaning onto the balls of his feet. Then, his hand was in hers, skin cool and dry against her slightly clammy palm. His handshake was surprisingly gentle, almost reserved, given the size of the arm attached to it. V felt her normally self-assured attitude draining out of her so intensely she might have been able to look down and see it leaking from her shoes. 

Wow. He’s really something, she thought. Don’t stand there like a gonk. Say something, goddammit.

“Hey. Hi. You too. I mean, likewise.” She was suddenly very grateful of the clinic’s dim lighting as she felt her cheeks flush red. He seemed not to notice, or politely ignored her embarrassment. 

“You find yourself in any trouble, come see me, okay? I’ll fix you up. Any friend of Jackie’s is a friend of mine.”

What kind of trouble we talking about, doc? V thought, before quickly quashing the idea. This guy was at least twice her age, probably had no interest in some punk like her. Hell, he was probably already taken, she thought morosely.

“That’s… really generous. Thanks, Viktor.”

“Call me Vik.” He said, finally releasing V’s hand, crossing his arms and shifting his weight onto his heels. “Never said there wouldn’t be a fee attached, though.” He said, flashing her a lopsided grin. The tingling feeling in V’s stomach intensified. 

“Well, I’m sure you’re worth it.” She shot back, deliberately buttering her voice with as much intention as she could muster.

Her reply caught him off guard, just for a moment. His eyebrow twitched again, and he quickly glanced over at his patient, but they were still deep in conversation with Jackie. He cleared his throat, shifting his weight slightly from one foot to the other, and looked down at the floor, seemingly inspecting his boots. 

“How’re you finding Night City?”

V suddenly realised he might not be much of a small-talker, and despite the added awkwardness, she found the thought endearing. 

“Oh, actually grew up here, kinda. On the outskirts. I’ve been away though. Was in Atlanta for a while.” 

“Atlanta, huh? Never been myself. What brought you back to NC?”

V paused, bit her lip. “Uh… I kinda went broke.” She’d walked into that one. She gave an awkward laugh to cover her discomfort. 

Viktor didn’t laugh. Instead, his face softened. “Ah. Well. It happens.” Arms still folded over his massive chest, he gave a her a small smile, but this was different from his usual grin. V could sense something else behind his eyes, and she inwardly cursed that they were covered by his tinted glasses, obscuring much of his expression. It would only occur to her, much later, that perhaps it was intentional. 

Viktor nodded sagely, apparently lost in thought for a moment before perking up again. “But hey, my prices are pretty reasonable. Maybe I’ll give you a discount if you ask nicely.”

V nodded politely, trying to read him. Did he really mean that?

Viktor was spared having to elaborate when Jackie clapped a huge hand on his shoulder. 

“Doctor Vektor, don’t let her talk your ear off. Can’t keep her quiet once she gets going, this one,” he said, as he headed for the door. V tried not to visibly cringe as she saw Viktor’s gaze sweep back to her. His expression, however, remained unchanged, a boyish smile still curled around his mouth. 

“Huh. Really.”

V, at a loss as to what else to do, stuck out her hand again. 

“Well, nice to - uh, good to meet you. Hopefully see you again soon. Well, not too soon, I mean, hopefully...” 

Viktor took her hand mid-sentence, this time gripping her hand tightly in his, and her rambling came to a stop. He laid his other hand with the exoglove lightly on her arm, gently squeezing her shoulder. 

“You can come see me anytime. But better not keep Jackie waiting, eh?”

V nodded, suddenly aware that both Viktor’s patient and Jackie were waiting for them to finish their exchange. She was also suddenly very aware that she would do almost anything right now to avoid having to tear herself away from Viktor. He let go of the handshake, but the hand on her shoulder stayed in place for a second before he moved away.

“Go on, now. And take care of yourself out there, V.” He said gently, nodding slightly as if to give her permission to go. 

“Thanks, Vik. I will.”