Side Story: Valarie

''Again!'' V bounced back up from the mat, taking a ready stance.

The large man overwatching her training chuckled softly, shaking his head. ''Nope, we had a deal, three downs, then we move onto working out.''

V groaned out, before she slowly moved across the mat. Dragging her feet as if she didn't just move quickly moments ago.

She moved onto a treadmill, starting to walk first as the large man moved over, taking a swig from his water bottle before he sat down with a heavy grunt.

''How you holdin' up V?'' The man asked.

''Good... It was hard at first... I never thought it would be hard to accept kindness like everyone's shown me so far. Mama Welles treats me like one of her own, and so do her sons, including Jackie.''

The man chuckled, shaking his head. ''Mama Welles treats everyone like her own. There's a good reason why she's known as 'Mama Welles.' I heard you made a few friends?''

''Yeah, Jackie. He's interested in a lot of things, but he has the same dream, to make it big in Night City as a runner... He's also a great listener, though sometimes he can be a meathead and liked to headbutt his problems instead of taking a moment to think about what he needs to do.''

''Anyone giving you any trouble?''

V shook her head, having slowly escalated into a full sprint. ''The one person... Who tried to pick on me... Jackie broke his nose.''

The man chuckled, nodding. ''Sounds about right, kid's got some serious natural strength. Glad to see him putting it to use as well and training it properly.''

''You're just glad... to see someone put effort... into their organic body instead... of just chroming up as everyone else does,'' V stated as she ran, only now starting to need to start focusing on her breathing.

''It's a good thing too! Because even if organic doesn't always beat metal, if you take care of your body, you can outfit it with stronger, bigger, and badder chrome. Look at David for example, kids got some fuckin' muscle on him.''

V frowned a bit, but she continued to run. ''I wish... David spent more time... Around here, so we could... Hang out.''

''A lot of people wish David visited more... But honestly, no one can blame him for what he's doing.''

''What... Is he doing?'' V continued to run, only speaking now when she needed to.

''Running, just like you are right now... Just in a different sense. David lost his Mother... just about a year ago now, and he's still running from it. Throwing himself into the grind, into the work, into Night City. I think he's come to terms with it... He just needs to release all that frustration he's got... Far as I know he hasn't found the people who did it yet.''

''Heard he's been involving himself between gangs more often recently as well... Might be looking to cross the people who put Gloria down... Hope he lets us and the others know when he does because we all want a piece of them.''

V watched the large Valentino that was assigned as her 'workout' partner, a personal recommendation by both Mama, and David. He was a good guy as well, strict when he needed to be, but treated V like she was just one of his little homies.

Slowly so stopped running, moving to a walk to cool down as she began to catch her breath.

''Have you known David for long?''

''For long? Kid was able to whop ass even before he got so big. His Dad was a badass turned super cop really, and he took no hesitation in transferring all that badassery right into David. In fact, David's better than his old man, too his dad four tries to land a successful hit on me when he first started sparing with me.''

''David got a hit in the first round, and was able to make me hit the mat by the fourth round, the kid learns fast, and he applies it just as fast. He was scary before he upgraded, now? He's downright scary, like a boogy man.'' The man chuckled, shaking his head.

Despite how he was talking, he seemed to age visibly as he sat there, his eyes having a fondness as he reminisced of the past, smiling softly at all the memories.

''You know, his Dad used to be nicknamed the 'Diablo'. A downright scary guy.''

''Did you know David's father well?''

''Well? We were practically brothers! Wasn't a thing he didn't get in trouble for that I wasn't right behind him shouldering the blame!'' The man chuckled as he relaxed in his chair.

''Then he met Gloria... He started to change, still a scary bastard, but scary with a purpose.''

''Then when Gloria got pregnant, they didn't hesitate to get married, and Albert became a cop. Started helping the Glen by cleaning up the real nasties... He was doing good to.''

''Right until the accident?'' V asked, her tone soft.

The man took a deep breath in, his eyes saddened. ''Until the accident... Wrong place, wrong time... Could've happened to any other person in the world, it just had to be Albert... It tore Gloria apart, and she took David away, away from it all. Made sure he would be well educated. Hoping that if he became a suit, he wouldn't need to worry about all the 'little accidents' down here.''

V nodded softly, only for the door to suddenly open as Jackie and a few of his brothers came in.

''V! I am here to challenge you to a weightlifting contest!'' Jackie stated boldly.

V scoffed, crossing her arms and sticking out her tongue. ''Contest my organic butt, Jackie! You know damn well I won't win!''

''That's fine! It's about the competition, the passion, and the heat of rivalry!'' Jackie said, already pulling dumbells off the racks as his brothers moved across the gym to do their own things.

V muttered an insult that Jackie simply let bounce off his optimism as she joined him with smaller weights as they continued their workout.

The large old man just grinning, glad to see his gym get used, even if it was by a bunch of brats.

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