Chapter Text
V could feel it again- that tingling in her skull that told her Songbird was reaching out. It reminded her of the feeling she’d get when the Relic was acting up, except this felt… warmer, and maybe even gentler. Although Johnny was quick to point out and subsequently make fun of her for the idea that it was her mind making things up- that this feeling was caused by something other than the Relic.
“V, it’s good to see you again,” Songbird said as she materialized in front of the merc. She wore the same outfit she’d always wore when she reached out to V: a denim jacket over her netrunning uniform. It suited her- far more than what she was wearing at the Black Sapphire, in her opinion. Although V certainly couldn’t deny So Mi looked beautiful no matter what she was wearing.
V let a slight chuckle escape her lips. “Oughta be me sayin’ that to you. I mean, between the two of us, I think you’re in a far more dangerous position than me- for all kinds of reasons.”
Song exhaled sharply. “V… I wanted to show you something- something I wouldn’t show you unless it meant that I trust you; fully, deeply, and completely.”
V gave the half-present woman a surprised blink. Out of all the things she expected from this meeting between them, this was not one of them. After all, she wanted to trust Song- to help her- but she wasn’t exactly making it easy for her. With any luck, this would be the turning point. “Okay, yeah. Of course, Song. What’s up?”
Songbird turned and started walking along a beaten path off the main sidewalk. She disappeared behind the brush leading under an overpass. V quickly followed after her, and after pushing past the bushes, she saw Songbird standing in front of a bunch of chairs, couches, and whatnot. It looked like a preem place to just… be- exist without the worries of the world. The vision in V’s head sat down on an old looking chair, sitting across its arms.
“When I was on assignment in NC, I lived just a few blocks away,” So Mi explained as V sat down on a couch directly across from her. “Sometimes I’d come here to just… get my mind of things and think to myself.” As she talked, V noticed she was deliberately avoiding her gaze. She knew what was on V’s mind. “And on even rarer occasions, I’d get Reed to join me, and we’d just talk- no holds barred.” She paused for a moment, letting out a single chuckle as she recalled the memories. “I think that might’ve been the only time I’ve seen Reed honest with himself.”
“That why you asked me to come here? To talk with no holds barred?” V asked, still trying to get So Mi to look her in the eyes with no success.
“Somethin’ like that…” she replied, nodding her head meagerly before standing up and sauntering over to the edge overlooking Dogtown.
V stood up and followed her. “Alright. In that case, I know you worked with Hansen to bring down SF1,” she said bluntly as she joined Songbird. “You betrayed Myers.”
“Not just her,” Songbird said, looking out at the city. “I never wanted her killed. The deal was gonna be to just have it forced onto the ground, not explode. But of course, Hansen changed the deal- in more ways than one. It went ass up in just about every way possible.”
“And what was your plan, then?”
Songbird sighed heavily. “Was gonna have you save Myers while I snagged the matrix, and before Hansen realized I screwed him, you and I would be long gone- cured.”
For some reason, the thought of her and So Mi running away from it all- everyone else be damned- and having their lives be in their own hands made V feel… hopeful, maybe even excited. The two of them were close now; V could feel it. Their cure was just barely out of reach, and once they didn’t have to worry about survival, they could get away from it all and live a life without the NUSA, without Dogtown, or Arasaka, or anything else.
“Look… I know I fucked everything up, V. I- I just wanted to…”
“To survive,” V finished her sentence for her. “To live without a clock always tickin’ down on your life. I understand- boy do I ever fuckin’ understand.”
So Mi sat down on a couch just off to their side. “No, it’s more than that. I just… don’t know how to put it into words.”
“Guilt,” V replied instantly, sitting down next to her. “You know you’re only out to survive, but just sayin’ that… it makes you feel selfish, and when you look at everyone that’s gotten hurt in the name of your “selfishness,” you tell yourself that there’s gotta be more to it to justify all the pain you’ve caused.” The merc trailed off, staring up at the stars as she thought about her own time through this thought process. All those people that died just so she could get her hands on Hellman- Scorpion, the other Aldecaldos, not to mention all the people that died in the blackout she caused.
Song looked up at V, wearing an expression that she couldn’t quite make sense of. “V, I…” she trailed off, and rather than continuing her thought, she instead chose something that surprised both of them.
Despite how slowly her hand moved, Song couldn’t stop it, or maybe she chose not to. Either way, before either of them knew it, her hand was touching V’s- holding it. Although, to say that they were touching may have been a slight overstatement. Both women could feel their touch receptors going off in their brains; so much so, in fact, that their brains could feel every inch down to the atom. But when they looked down, both of them just saw V’s hand overlapping with hers- passing right through it. Neither of them let this stop them, though.
“Thank you, V. I think, all things considered, I’m glad I asked for your help,” she finished speaking. She took the strange sensation of their connection even further by attempting to rest her head on V’s shoulder.
“Listen, So Mi. I can promise you one thing right here, and right now: when all of this is said and done- when we’ve got this cure- you and I are gonna get as far away from all of this as possible, and we’re just gonna… live.”
Song let out a remorseful sigh. “V… don’t- don’t say that. With everything that’s happened, I just don’t have much hope left. Besides, promises made and promises kept are often a world apart- no matter how good your intentions are.”
She was scared- terrified, even. That much was clear to V, and she didn’t blame Song one bit. This was, without a doubt, more than either of them wanted out of life, but that’s why they deserved a chance to live with all of this behind them, and V was going to make sure that Song didn’t give up- not to V and not to herself. The merc pulled her head back slightly, causing Songbird to lift her head off V’s shoulder, and once she was upright, V took it as her moment. She would certainly look downright insane to anyone who happened to pass by, seeing as how So Mi wasn’t actually there, but that didn’t stop her from cupping a hand over her cheek, and pulling her in until their lips got the chance to feel the sensation that their hands had relished in a minute ago. V was certain of it now: they were almost out- out of it all. However, in the moment, she didn’t take the time to see the expression on Song’s face: guilt.