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Judy leaned on the side of her “Sea Dragon” van letting the sun bathe her skin. It had been pretty sunny these last few days, so she knew a storm was brewing. The only question was: what kind and how long would the rain last this time? She instinctively reached into her overall’s front pocket and grabbed the small box there before stopping herself.
“No, not this time, Jude,” she said to herself, before bringing her hand out.
The back doors slammed shut and Vikk’s head popped around the side, “Jude?” she asked, “you say something?”
Judy adjusted herself as the merkk walked up to her. “Nah, just talking to myself.”
“You seem to be doing that a lot lately,” Vikk noted. “You feeling ok? Your cravings…”
The half smile Judy had been wearing melted away as she fixed her eyes on Vikk’s aviators. She felt like if she focused hard enough, she could break the glass and stare straight at the merkk’s emerald green eyes, hiding beneath. But she knew they were more than just sunglasses to Vikk, they were a piece of her past. “I’m managing them,” she said in a flat tone. Instantly regretting the tone she apologized, “Ugh, i’m sorry, V. Didn’t mean to spit that out like that. It’s just that-”
“I know,” Vikk interrupted. “It’s not easy to quit,” she leaned in and kissed the rose tattooed on the left side of Judy’s neck, “but I’m so proud of the progress you’ve made.”
That made the smile come flying back onto Judy’s face. “So,” she said, enthusiastically, “you ready to go?”
Vikk let out a heavy sigh, “I’ll be honest, I’m still nervous as fuck, but let’s go meet your grandparents.”
Judy leaned in and planted a kiss on Vikk’s lips, “Trust me, they’re gonna love you. I’ve told them how happy I am with you, how much you mean to me. They’re super excited to meet you.”
“Can, uh…” Vikk stuttered, “can I get a few more of those confidence boosters?”
Judy smiled, laid a hand on Vikk’s face and said, “No, we’re gonna be late if we don’t take off.” She lightly squeezed Vikk’s left breast and said, “C’mon Captain Tit E. Normus, we gotta go!”
Vikk chuckled to herself, walked around to the passenger side door and climbed inside. “Tit E. Normus? Really?”
“You’re the one who decided to date me, for one. And for two, yes. I gotta be on my best behavior around them, so I’m gonna get all the sexy talk out now while we still have our alone time.” Suddenly, without warning, Judy let out a massive yawn.
“Ok,” Vikk said stepping out of the van, “you’re not driving in that state.”
“Whadda mean? I’m fine!” Judy protested as she tried to suppress another yawn.
“Mmm hmmm, I told you to get to bed earlier last night. You’re running on like 3 hours of sleep!”
“Calm down, V. I promise I’ll-” another yawn erupted from Judy. Vikk got out and walked to the driver’s side door, opening it.
“Nope, we’re not gonna end up in a ditch cuz you refuse to take a nap.” The merkk scooped the techie up in her arms and gently carried her over to the other side of the van. Awkwardly, but gently, she placed Judy in the seat with minimal complaints. “You sleep for a bit, we’ll be on the road when you wake up.”
“V, I’m fine. Said so already,” complained Judy but she struggled to keep her eyes open. The sun was like a giant blanket that was keeping her warm. Before she could protest again, Vikk closed the passenger door and made her way to the driver’s seat. As she took the seat, she glanced over at Judy, who was somehow, fast asleep. She was slumped back, arms folded in that way Vikk would usually find her when she fell asleep at her robotic station in their apartment.
“Oh, yeah. You’re totally good to drive Jude,” the merkk said to herself. She fired up the van and headed out of town, northwards.
They had been driving for a few hours and were deep in the heart of Northern California when the holo rang. Vikk, still being the only conscious person in the cab, answered.
She saw the name, and despite the sun, felt a cold chill run down her spine. “Hello?”
An older feminine voice, not entirely dissimilar to Judy’s replied, “So good to finally heart your voice, V. You know this is Ainara, yes?”
Still wanting to make a good impression, Vikk went for the safe answer, “Yes ma’am, it’s great to finally get to talk to you as well.”
Ainara nodded and said, “And Ranita? Where is she?”
Vikk shot a quick glance over at Judy, still fast asleep. “She, uh… had a long night last night. She’s taking a power nap while we drive.”
“Would you happen to be the cause of her long night, by chance, V?”
Vikk felt her cheeks go red, “I promise I was not. I tried to get her to sleep sooner, but you know how she can get when she’s deep in a virtu…”
“Ayy, I do. The girl just can’t stop working sometimes. However, I am glad she’s asleep. I wanted to talk to you. And only you.”
Vikk felt the beads of sweat start to fall down her face. “Uh… s-sure. Of course…”
“You’re nervous… or is this how you always talk formally? Judy isn’t here to save you now, hmm?” Vikk was lost for words. The warnings Judy had given her back before the first text Ainara sent had proven true. “Ha!” the old woman finally laughed, “You really do get flustered easily.”
Vikk wanted to bark out a snappy retort, before remembering her situation. This was Judy’s abuela, one of the people closest to her heart, and she was in a confined space with the techie trying to catch up on her sleep. She was in a minefield and had to tread EXTREMELY cautiously. “I, uh…”
“My apologies, nieta, I did not mean to catch you so off guard. I simply had to see how strong is your resolve. Truly, Ranita was right.”
“Judy said that?” Vikk glanced back at Judy’s sleeping form.
“Ayy, she has said much. I have never seen her truly this happy in quite some time. Oh, how she goes on about you and how you make her feel. How she has grown to love the smell of gunpowder on you when you return to her.”
“Um… Abuela…” Vikk tried to cut her off, but was quickly silenced.
“Listen, V. I know how she feels about you, how she cares for you. I also know how she does not excel at expressing those emotions, si? I know she was up late last night, because she called me.”
“She did?” Vikk asked, awe struck. “I had no idea.”
“She was ‘working’ on a BD when you slept, yes? Apparently, you are quite the sleeper, because she called mere ‘moments after V passed out’. V, you must truly be quite a woman to make Judy feel like this. Everytime she call, I ask, ‘How are you and your V?’ and many times I have had to stop her from recalling EVERYTHING you did. She loves to talk about you.”
“I… um… I don’t know what to say.”
“Then allow me to ask. Without thinking, looking purely at your heart, how does she make you feel?”
“I love her. I love her more than anything in the world.” Vikk was stunned for a moment at what had just come out of her mouth. She did love Judy, but she had never been brave enough to say all those words together.
“And why do you feel like that?”
“Well, she makes me feel happy whenever we are around each other. Every morning when I leave, there’s always a thought in the back of my mind saying ‘What if you get zero’d today and never see her again?’.”
“You have a good heart, V. It’s clear you truly do care for her. But you must tell her before it’s too late. I have known her heartbreak stories, before you knew her. She has been through so much. She deserves someone who cares as much as you do. Promise me, before you two arrive, you will tell her how you feel. As honestly and openheartedly as you have told me.”
Vikk took a deep breath, “I will, Abuela. I swear it.”
“You are a good woman, V. I look forward to meeting you.”
Shortly after the call ended, Judy stirred awake. She rubbed her eyes and rolled her neck.
“Sleep well?” Vikk asked.
“Meh, well enough for this trip, i suppose,” Judy said, still a bit groggy. “I miss anything?”
Vikk’s fingers went cold, remembering the promise she made Ainara, “I, uh…. I got a call. From your abuela.”
“Uh oh,” Judy said in a comical way, “how much trouble did you cause?” When Vikk did not immediately respond, Judy grew nervous. “V? What happened? What did she say?”
Vikk found a nearby motel and pulled into it’s parking lot. She knew this was going to be a serious talk like she never had before. She killed the engine and turned to Judy, “Let’s stretch. Been in here a while now.” She got out and felt the gentle breeze on her face. It was good to be out of the van. It had been quite some time since they set out from Night City.
Judy quickly got out and ran to the other side of the van. “V!! What did she say?” It wasn’t anger in Judy’s tone, but concern. Fear for something she missed. Concern for the next words that she would hear. “Don’t bullshit me around, don’t fucking try to sugarcoat whatever it is. What. Did. She. SAY?”
“We talked about you.” The merkk certainly didn’t bullshit or sugarcoat the words. They almost took Judy off her feet. “And… and I love you more than anything in the world.”
“V… you-.” Before Judy could parse a coherent sentence, Vikk pulled her into the most loving kiss they had yet had. Judy finally stopped trying to understand what she heard, and returned the embrace! She wrapped one arm around V’s back and grabbed a lock of her green hair with the other. She took in V’s smell. For the first time in recent memory, she didn’t smell of gunpowder and blood, but the much rarer, almonds and shea butter. Judy’s pulse was racing, but her mind was focused on one thing. After they finally ended the kiss, she gave voice to the thought, “You finally said it. You really finally said it!” She could feel tears in her eyes. “I love you too, V. I love you so damn much I…” She gave another loving kiss to the woman of her dreams. She was no neurologist, but Judy knew the amount of serotonin she had right now, was a new personal high.
Vikk did something then that surprised Judy. She reached up and pulled her aviators off, in the middle of the day. It was something Judy had never seen the merkk do while they were together. “I’m real sorry it took so long to finally say, Jude. I shoulda said it so many times before. There were-”
“V, it doesn’t matter that you didn’t say it before. I knew you felt it. Fuck, I felt it too. From the moment we first got together, I knew there was something special about you I was drawn to, something I either needed or couldn’t resist.” Judy took the aviators from Vikk’s hands and placed them on top of the merkk’s forehead. Her hair would hold them in place. She then placed each hand on either side of Vikk’s face, to ensure the two of them were looking dead into each other’s eyes. “I’ve loved you since our first night together and every night since!”
“I’ve loved you too. At first I thought it was just your looks, but I’ve fallen for everything about you, Jude. Your smarts, your tats, your attitude, all of it. I won’t let anything happen to you as long as I’m still breathing.”
“That was a weird way to say that, but i know what you mean,” Judy smiled. She pulled Vikk into another loving embrace. “C’mon,” she finally said, “my grandma’s gonna murder me if I keep you from meeting her any longer.”
The moon hung high in the night sky as the Sea Dragon finally reached its destination. Judy put the vehicle in park and looked over to Vikk. She looked to the house sitting next to where they had stopped.
“You ready?” she asked, reaching for the merkk’s hand.
Vikk took Judy’s hand in her own, “I’m gonna be a fucking bundle of nerves…”
“You’ll be fine. They’re just as nervous about you if that makes you feel better.”
Vikk was shocked. She hadn’t expected Judy’s grandparents to be afraid of her.
Judy rolled her eyes at Vikk’s lack of a response. She got out of the van, made her way over to the passenger side and opened the door. “C’mon, gonk!” She took one of Vikk’s hands and pulled her out. “How can you do the most dangerous job in NC with no problem, but as soon as it comes to meeting my family, you can’t take it?”
“I’m just afraid they won’t like me, and I know how much they mean to you…”
“You also know how much YOU mean to me,” Judy interrupted. “You don’t know what I’ve said to them about you. I promise, you got nothing to worry about at all!”
Vikk wanted to think of some reason why this wouldn’t work, but the look in Judy’s eyes, the feel of her hands, made Vikk’s insecurities melt away. As she looked at the techie, she was once again filled with the feeling that she had been filled with a million times since they met. She felt stupid for thinking how she had. “Heh, I'm sorry, Judy. You’re probably right, things are going to be fine.”
“They’ll be better than fine, you’ll love them.” She pulled the merkk into a warm embrace. Just as she was going to say more, she saw the front door open and a silhouette standing in the frame. Vikk saw the figure at the same time. Judy quickly turned back to Vikk and adjusted the merkk’s jacket. She wrapped an arm around Vikk’s back and said, “Ready?”
Vikk steeled her nerves as best as she could, looked Judy dead in her eyes, similarly wrapped an arm around her, and said, “Ready.” Together, they walked towards the figure.