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ruvviks · 2 years

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Chapter >> 9 [x] Characters >> Cato Wu (oc), Daniil Dobrynin (oc), Mikhail Koshechkin (oc), Shiro Nakano (oc), Vitali Dobrynin (oc) Total >> 9.6k words Warnings >> Alcohol mention, blood, brainwashing mention, death mention, drugs mention, family, implied transphobia mention, injuries, mild violence, smoking mention

Wellsprings, 7 AM.

A cool, foggy morning, the sun not yet strong enough to warm up the air, weak rays of light poking through the low-hanging clouds leaving the streets in a soft glow. Only few were out, surprisingly enough; a strange silence, as if the entire city was holding its breath and bracing itself.

He hated it there.

The docks reminded him of his childhood- playing all by himself until sunset, until he would see the car of his parents drive by and he would hurry his way back to their luxury apartment in Megabuilding H2 to get there before they could.

He had never been caught. Besides, his parents had always been too preoccupied scolding Vitali for whatever new trouble he had managed to work himself into anyway, to care about what he had been up to.

Daniil glanced at the penthouse at the top of the building next to the Megabuilding, jaw clenched as he scoffed to himself. He did not understand why Vitali had moved there of all places; a sense of nostalgia drawing him back, perhaps, though Daniil doubted it. No way in hell to him that Vitali looked back to their childhood fondly.

But he was not on his way to Vitali’s home. No, his office- on the other side of Heywood’s sub-district, amongst several other tall buildings for businesses Daniil had never even heard of before. But he knew what Vitali did; what he was, now.

A fixer.

Ridiculous to think about; a middleman between clients and mercenaries, the scum of the city, the kind of people one would not want to be associated with. Though it was not all that surprising to Daniil; his brother had always been an outlier in the family, and for him to turn against megacorporations was very much on brand.

Another soft scoff left his lips as he crossed the street, pushing his hands deeper in the pockets of his long coat while lowering his gaze to the asphalt below his feet. He accidentally bumped into a woman, who immediately called out to him in defense- his head snapped up and their eyes met in the middle, his icy glare silencing her instantly.

He hated it there.

He was unsure why he had lived there for so long. Night City had nothing left to offer him, and the longer he stayed the more trapped he was starting to feel. The buildings surrounding him were too tall, the roads too busy, the streets too crowded; he had always worried they would swallow him whole one day.

Daniil continued at a brisk pace, keeping his gaze low to the ground as the streets surrounding him became busier and busier, as if they had been able to hear his thoughts and acted accordingly. People carrying suitcases, their morning coffee, their phones- all on their way to work, getting ready for yet another day in their routinuous lives, and he could not help but clench his jaw tightly at the thought of what he no longer had.

But that did not matter, now. He had business to discuss.

Never had Daniil expected a phone call from his older brother. After Vitali had left home aged eighteen, he had not heard of him again. Had not been around for birthdays, had not shown up to family reunions- though Daniil knew it had not been out of disinterest.

As much as he disliked Vitali, he couldn’t help but vividly remember the phone ringing every day after his sudden departure, until Nadya had decided to replace it with another. He himself had been forced to blacklist his brother’s number. Eventually his parents had bought him a new phone too-

And Vitali had been successfully removed out of Daniil’s life.

It had bothered him very little, at the time. Vitali had been nothing but a pain in his ass for most of their childhood, constantly bugging him about helping him with tasks he had been given. Daniil had had plenty of homework to worry about- and besides, if their parents had wanted him to help then they would have given him tasks too.

At this point Daniil was old enough to realize perhaps it was not entirely like that, and it wouldn’t have hurt to help Vitali on occasion. But it was far too late for that now.

I’ll hear him out this once. Makes us even.

He soon found his way to Vitali’s office. It stood out in its surroundings; a surprisingly clean exterior, as if someone had finished power washing the solid concrete walls only minutes before Daniil’s arrival. He wondered how much of it was actually Vitali’s; certainly not the entire building, right? What would he even need that much space for?

Daniil carefully walked in, eyes slowly trailing the entrance hall, and he was unable to stop his jaw from dropping slightly. It was a spacious area, with high ceiling and tall walls, windows reaching all the way to the top on the street-side and to his left. Matte black and dark gray colors surrounded him, with golden, bronze and metallic rose details; almost mocking Arasaka’s brand, in a way.

It did not feel anything like the corporation, though. Yes, it was a little monotonous, and appeared professional enough at first glance- a large waiting area on his left at the windows, big planters as decoration, a front desk on his right a little further into the hall, near the elevators- but it was warm inside, and there was a surprising amount of people present.

Daniil slowed his pace until he stood nearly still, and watched a group of people chat with each other in the waiting area; from their clothing he assumed some of them were clients, and others were- well, either security, or mercenaries. Perhaps both.

He accidentally made direct eye contact with an older man, cyberware plating covering nearly everything below his cheekbones and his neck, two bright red eyes piercing straight through Daniil- he quickly picked up his pace again and made his way over to the front desk.

‘Good morning, how can I help you?’ the lady asked, without looking up from her screens. Daniil couldn’t help but notice she was wearing a brightly colored blouse, and her makeup matched her clothing’s saturation. One of her deep brown eyes had a bright blue ring activated and her pupils were darting from left to right- she was clearly doing several things at once.

A curious sight. Daniil was used to a strict dress code.

‘I have an appointment with Vitali Dobrynin,’ he said, making sure to deepen his voice a little as he spoke. He had perfected his fake American accent over the years, though slipped up slightly at the mention of his brother’s name; and he hated it.

‘Name, please?’

‘Daniil Dobrynin.’

A moment of silence. Daniil could not help but notice the blue ring disappearing from the lady’s eye as she sat up a little straighter and went through something on the computer. He waited impatiently, briefly glancing up when he noticed movement in the corner of his eye; some of the security guards- or mercenaries- from the waiting area had stood up and were making their way over to the elevators, now.

‘I do not see your name in the systems, unfortunately,’ the lady suddenly said, and finally glanced up at him- clearly underestimating his height at first and quickly adjusting her gaze to his eye level. ‘Did you call in for an appointment earlier this week or-’

‘Can you contact him for me, please?’ Daniil instantly cut her off. ‘I don’t have all day.’

‘Sir, that’s not-’

‘It is alright.’

The sudden voice startled Daniil slightly and he instinctively reached for his belt, hand finding the grip of his gun with ease, as it had done many times before. He looked up again- well, down- and was met with the older man from before, giving the lady at the desk a gentle nod and then gesturing for Daniil to follow him.

‘Where are we going?’ Daniil asked, momentarily glancing back at the desk while slowly following the man; his hand still rested on his gun, as if he was still expecting it all to be a trap-

For some reason, it wouldn’t surprise him.

‘To see your brother,’ the man simply answered. ‘That is why you are here, yes? He asked me to take you upstairs, once you would arrive.’

‘And you are?’

‘I do not see why that is relevant.’

They entered an elevator together and Daniil walked over to the far corner, shoving his hands back into the pockets of his coat as he carefully watched his companion; then, he lowered his gaze and activated his cyberdeck, performing a subtle quickhack to the elevator’s control panel to draw the man’s attention, followed immediately by another to ping his identity.

Shiro Nakano, 52 years old. Every other bit of information was unavailable to Daniil- though he noticed it came straight from an Arasaka database, and it made him wonder how much of Vitali’s current security had been fired with him.

Yes, he knew all about it. Of course he knew- he had still lived with his parents at the time and had witnessed the aftermath of it all firsthand, to the point it had driven him away from home. It was one thing he did not blame on Vitali, though; he had been waiting for the right opportunity to leave anyway.

‘Left into the hallway, then the first on your right,’ Shiro suddenly said, and Daniil realized the elevator had come to a stop. ‘Across the waiting hall you will find his office. He’s waiting for you.’

‘Thanks,’ Daniil mumbled, though if anything it was more on autopilot than a genuine response.

He left the elevator, straightening his back and tilting his head up slightly upon hearing voices nearby. He had not been paying attention- what floor was he even on? And why was it so busy inside? He had always assumed fixer businesses were small, and secretive; yet it seemed like his brother had built something much more than that.

Daniil did not question Vitali’s competence. He had once worked for Arasaka; that had to count for something. Yet it is also exactly what made Daniil wonder-

Why had they fired him? And why had they let him walk away from it alive?

He balled his fists in his pockets and tightened the muscles in his shoulders, a strange sense of caution overtaking him the moment he reached the turn he was supposed to take. Despite the fact nothing had happened thus far, he still felt like he was stuck in a hostile area, surrounded by people who were waiting for the right moment to strike.

A defense mechanism. Daniil found comfort in assuming the worst- it kept him alert and ready for anything and he would either end up being right or pleasantly surprised.

The waiting hall had the same color scheme as the rest of the building’s interior, though the warm lighting made it comfortable and inviting despite the lack of direct natural light. As he’d already been able to tell from the noises, it was crowded inside; many mercs sitting scattered across the room at tables and on chairs and benches lined along the walls, none of them even as much as looking up the moment Daniil entered.

He slowly started making his way across the hall, eyes scanning the crowd and torso still tensed up. Even though the hall really was not all that big, it felt like it stretched on forever and his heart was beating high in his throat, for reasons he couldn’t quite place.

Something made him stop.

His eyes had found a girl- short, standing with three others, laughing about a joke someone made. Mostly pink hair, black roots, bright pink eyes-

A shaky exhale left Daniil’s lips and suddenly he saw red, something inside him snapping as he rushed forward and drew his gun. As if the girl had heard him- her head snapped up and her expression instantly hardened, and she dodged out of his line of fire before he could even flip the safety off.

‘What the-!’ she exclaimed and punched Daniil’s gun right out of his hand. He cursed and grabbed her hair, yanking it back violently while reaching for his belt again to try and grab his knife- though before he could he noticed she had done the same and he raised his hand again, deflecting her attack with his forearm.

‘What the fuck is your problem?!’ she roared, flipping the knife in her hand and going for another swing; Daniil caught her arm and twisted it around, still holding her hair as he dragged her away from the other people who now finally started to react.

Cato Wu.

Once a beloved and valued member of Kang Tao’s security division, her squad the most efficient and deadly of the entire force. But something had happened- the details unknown to Daniil- and each and every member had needed to be dealt with.

No loose ends.

Daniil tried to get ahold of his knife once more, but suddenly he was grabbed by the collar of his coat and he was yanked back. The girl managed to slip out of his grip and spun around, roundhouse kicking him straight in the stomach. He yelped and winced, doubling over- but two hands pulled him right back up, and a face appeared in his view-

A familiar face.

He looked different now. Hair no longer a buzzcut, some new cyberware decorating his cheekbones, but still the same bright blue eyes filled with pure hatred for Daniil, and still unmistakably Mikhail. Vitali’s best friend of many years- it did not surprise him even a little bit to see him there.

‘You have some fucking nerve showing your face here,’ Mikhail snarled in Russian, voice deep and threatening as he violently shoved Daniil into the wall. ‘Did he send you? Finally running papa’s errands for him now that the promise of power is in the picture?’

‘I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about!’ Daniil spat back through gritted teeth, grabbing Mikhail’s hands and struggling in his grip, trying to free himself. ‘I’ll fuck you up- Let me go! I’m with Kang Tao, I can request backup and-’

‘You got fired.’

Daniil’s voice faltered and a deafening silence fell over the hall. He blinked and looked around- everyone present was staring straight at him, including-

Vitali?

Daniil watched with clenched jaw and face drained from blood as a man with short, pushed back bleached hair wandered closer. His roots were showing; it had clearly been a while since last time he dyed it. He had facial hair, now, and some cyberware too; yet still the same freckles and dull eyes and the same blank expression on his face as in their childhood.

Daniil could not help but notice how much his brother reminded him of their father.

‘Let him go, Misha,’ Vitali quietly said, gently placing his hand on Mikhail’s wrist. ‘I called him.’

‘You-’ Mikhail immediately closed his mouth again, head snapping to Vitali, then to Daniil, and back. He loosened his grip on the collar of Daniil’s coat and Daniil immediately pushed him off, straightening his back and pushing back his shoulders in an attempt to make himself appear taller. It did not help much- Mikhail was still at least an inch taller and he instantly stepped closer again when he noticed Daniil gathering himself.

‘Running out of options,’ Vitali quietly added, still holding on to his friend’s wrist. ‘Please.’

His gaze finally caught Daniil’s; face still unreadable and the way he briefly furrowed his eyebrows was almost hostile- Daniil did not know how else to accurately describe it.

Static in the air. Daniil’s eyes slowly trailed through the hall again and could not help but notice the girl had not been the only one to take out a weapon; and it suddenly dawned on him he was very lucky to still be in one piece.

What had he been thinking, anyway? Well, he had not been thinking- and that was exactly the problem. Impulsive decisions had nearly cost him his life before, many times before, and every time he believed things had changed for him something like this would happen, proving him otherwise.

‘How did you-’ Daniil finally spoke up, his voice sharply cutting through the silence in the hall, but Vitali instantly cut him off.

‘I know a lot about you,’ he bluntly said. ‘Kang Tao might have erased most of you from their databases, but Netwatch has not.’

A pause, and Vitali tilted his head up ever so slightly. ‘The woman you hit is well, by the way. Her medical bills were paid for by your superiors, but- I presume you already knew that. She is married, now. Has a child.’

A sharp exhale left Daniil’s lips and he lowered his gaze; not in shame, of course not- at least, that is what he told himself- but the multiple sets of eyes on him were burning holes in his skin and he could feel his heartbeat picking up again.

He hadn’t known about her condition, after accidentally driving in on her during that damned chase in Northside. Had never even bothered to ask.

‘But that is not why they fired you, is it?’

Daniil carefully looked up again and watched as Vitali gently nudged Mikhail aside, then reached for Daniil’s collar to fix it. Oh, how desperately he wanted to punch that calm expression off his brother’s face- but he kept his composure, tightly clenching his fists and keeping his eyes locked on the bridge of Vitali’s nose.

‘You got fired because you were unable to capture her.’

Vitali slightly turned around to glance back at the girl- Cato- who still had her knife clenched tightly in her hand, bright pink eyes staring straight through Daniil. She tilted her head up a bit the moment she noticed Vitali’s eyes on her, but was clearly still shaking with adrenaline.

‘Why are you doing this?’ Daniil quietly hissed, involuntarily slipping back into his native accent and feeling blood rush to his ears. ‘You call me here asking for help, and then you humiliate me?’

‘You agree to help me then show up to my office, attack one of my mercenaries and dare to claim you have Kang Tao backing you up?’ Vitali instantly interrupted him again. He did not raise his voice at Daniil as he spoke- yet Daniil still took a step back, much to his own surprise, until he was pressed against the wall again.

Vitali stared him down, pale blue eyes scanning his younger brother’s face while taking another small step closer, cane softly clacking on the ground as he moved it along.

‘You need to know your place,’ he said. ‘We are adults now- would like for you to behave like one. Think you can do that for me, this once? Or is that already too much to ask?’

Daniil blinked, words caught in his throat for the first time in a while as Vitali’s words settled in his head. He nodded in response, for some reason- had not even wanted to do that, but it happened before he could stop himself.

‘Thank you,’ Vitali said, stepping back. ‘My office, please. Everyone else- continue your business as usual. I won’t be available for an hour. If you need assistance with anything, Mikhail can help you out.’

Daniil watched in dead silence as everyone turned away once more- with the exception of one or two, their eyes still lingering on him- and slowly pushed himself away from the wall. Vitali had turned around and quietly spoke to Cato, his hand resting steadily on her shoulder as she put her knife away. Daniil couldn’t help but roll his eyes when his brother gently brushed some hair out of the mercenary’s face and proceeded to give her a kiss on her forehead.

He’s gone soft. Disgusting.

So many years apart and Daniil had not known what exactly to expect. Vitali looked vastly different now- yet still somehow exactly the same, and Daniil had recognized him effortlessly despite his previous worries of possibly not even being able to do so.

He was a little jealous, even. Had never been able to grow facial hair like Vitali’s himself and by the looks of it, it was probably never going to happen.

He slowly followed his brother to his office, already having forgotten about Cato and paying her no mind as he passed her by. He noticed how Vitali was actually using the cane to walk- for some reason Daniil had assumed it was purely aesthetics, but now he realized Vitali’s leg injury from his childhood probably caught up with him, somewhere along the way.

‘It’s good to see you,’ Vitali said as they entered his office, slipping into Russian as he spoke. He sat down at his desk and gestured at one of the empty chairs on the other side, signaling to Daniil to sit down as well.

‘Cut the bullshit,’ Daniil immediately spat back, closing the door behind him and refusing to speak in his mother tongue, once again deepening his voice- almost in an attempt to sound more intimidating. ‘I do not have time for small talk.’

‘Daniil-’

‘You need my help. What for?’

‘Please sit.’

‘I’d rather stand.’

Another deafening silence fell over the room and Vitali visibly clenched his jaw, leaning back into his chair while reaching for his glasses and taking them off his nose.

‘Have you heard of the Broker?’ he asked, his voice suddenly a bit quieter, and the last word was spoken hesitantly.

‘Name is familiar, yes,’ Daniil answered after a short pause, blinking a few times and then still walking over to the chairs to sit down, his curiosity piqued. ‘We had tabs on them through NCPD radio for a while- violent fixer out for their colleagues. Not so good for your image, is it?’

‘It’s father.’

The statement punched all the oxygen out of Daniil’s lungs, his own clever remark instantly dissipating in the air surrounding them. He frowned, frozen in his seat- then grabbed the chair and shoved it closer to Vitali’s desk, to lean on it with his arms.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked, finally switching to Russian as if he was scared anyone else would hear them.

‘Unfortunately so.’ Vitali paused and sighed, leaning forward as well and reaching out for a pen to fiddle with. ‘I- I met him. Last week. Saw mother too. Roksana is with them, still.’

Daniil said nothing.

His heart was racing in his chest suddenly, throat tightened painfully as Vitali’s words echoed around in his head. The Broker- their father? A thought that had never even crossed his mind back at Kang Tao, back when he had heard his colleagues joke about the situation.

He had laughed with them, back then. But it wasn’t funny anymore.

‘Why?’ Daniil finally managed to ask, dropping one hand flat on Vitali’s desk with a bit more force than he had meant for. ‘What is he- Why is he-?’

‘I was hoping you’d be able to tell me,’ Vitali quietly responded.

Daniil stared at him, eyes slowly moving over his brother’s features until it finally hit him how exhausted he looked. The dark roots of his hair, the loose strands covering his forehead- the eternal dark rims around his eyes, darker than Daniil could remember- his slumped shoulders, his bruised knuckles, his slightly shaking hands-

‘Dad was not happy about being fired because of you,’ he said, slowly leaning back in his seat. ‘But I never thought he would…be capable of this.’

Matvey was a man of principles. Had been loyal to a fault to Arasaka, stoic and straightforward, able to make all the tough decisions others couldn’t; which is exactly why he had been promoted, why their family had had to move, why their mother had been relocated and why their already highly dysfunctional family had started to crumble even more.

Daniil had been young. He still was not entirely sure what exactly his father’s job had been; a banker, later an executive, though his responsibilities had stretched much further than that. But one thing he did know was that the kind of violence he had resorted to now, as a fixer-

It had never been part of it. And Daniil truly had not known their father would be capable of any of it.

‘Me neither,’ Vitali softly said in response.

Daniil could not help but wonder what had happened. Clearly their father had attacked Vitali- just once? Perhaps more? How had Vitali found out about any of this? Was he even telling the truth? But, most importantly-

‘Why did you get fired?’ Daniil quietly asked, eyes finding Vitali’s once more. ‘Why did they let you walk away?’

He had to know. He had to know whether Vitali brought this onto himself or not.

‘I was tasked to kill Susan Abernathy,’ Vitali plainly answered, and swiftly flipped the pen between his fingers as if he was toying around with a knife. ‘If I refused- well, you out of all people should know how that works. But… Someone ratted me out. She sent her men after me.’

Daniil watched a shadow wash over his brother’s face and he coughed, a sudden frown on his face Daniil was unable to place. He finally put the pen down and clasped his hands together, and could for some reason barely look at him anymore.

‘I was not meant to walk away from it alive,’ he quietly continued. ‘At the time- I had some…health issues, so to say. Would not surprise me if they were caused by the stimulants they were shoving down my throat on the daily. But- I had a stabilizer near my heart. Put there by Arasaka. It kept me going. And they… They attempted to initiate an overload. If Jackie had not been there…’

Daniil shifted in his seat, the puzzle pieces slowly clicking into place as Vitali’s voice faltered and he realized he had not seen anyone resembling Vitali’s childhood best friend back in the waiting hall, or the entrance hall of the building. He could not help but wonder- had he lost him that same day, too?

‘Do you still- you know,’ Daniil hesitantly answered, and gestured at his own chest.

‘No.’ Vitali sucked in a deep breath and quickly regained his composure, visibly glad about the subject change. ‘Had it removed the next day.’

Good.

The thought popped up in Daniil’s head unexpectedly. He startled himself with it.

Another deep exhale left his body as he watched Vitali shift in his seat, looking at anything in the room but Daniil; oh, how clearly he did not want to be in that situation, probably as much as Daniil himself if not more, but the circumstances had left him with little other options and there they were, reunited at last- though none of it felt right.

Daniil had never thought he would see his brother again.

‘Vitali.’

It felt weird to say his name, directly to his face. Daniil had not done that in years- and when they had still lived under the same roof, he had not always called him that, even when he had already known about it. Possibly the only thing he truly felt bad for, though he would never admit that out loud.

‘What do you want from me?’ Daniil asked, leaning back in the chair. ‘I have nothing to do with this. I have not spoken to them in years now.’

After he had left, he had not been anything like Vitali. He hadn’t called every day, hadn’t tried to stay in touch; he had cut off all contact with them, knowing very well it would be of no use to try.

‘He is still our father,’ Vitali quietly said. ‘I just… I need to do something, no? And I thought- I know he won’t listen to me. But he will listen to you.’

‘To me?’ Daniil scoffed. ‘You truly think so?’

‘You were his favorite.’

What?

Daniil froze. His favorite-?

It made no sense to him. Vitali had always received all their parents’ attention; taken up more space than Daniil and Roksana combined and then some. He had been trusted with all the grownup chores and responsibilities, had been allowed to go anywhere, do anything-

‘Bullshit,’ Daniil spat out before he could stop himself, sudden white hot rage bubbling up in his chest and he glared at Vitali. ‘They barely paid attention to me. It was always all about you.’

He should not have said anything.

Vitali’s face hardened and he straightened his back, eyes slowly scanning Daniil’s face as he tried to figure out whether his younger brother meant his words or not; Daniil opened his mouth again, but the words refused to leave his lips- and probably for the better.

‘You truly think mother chewed me out every day of my life because she loved me so much?’ Vitali bluntly asked. ‘Yelled at me, called me names, refused to accept my identity because she preferred my presence in that fucking household over yours?’

‘That’s not what I meant,’ Daniil immediately mumbled, and for the first time that day Vitali slightly raised his voice.

‘Then what did you mean?’ he sharply said, and he grabbed the edge of his desk with one hand and gripped it until his knuckles turned white. ‘Just-! Help me understand. Please.’

‘You could always do anything,’ Daniil shrugged, heart nearly beating out of his chest as his anger fully overtook him and he could no longer keep his words to himself. ‘Were always doing whatever with Mikhail- as if you did not want to be part of our family. And when you were there, you would act as if the responsibilities our parents gave you were a burden and tried to make it my problem. They did not trust me with any of that, you know.’

‘So you’re telling me I should’ve been grateful for being used as their fucking slave every day?’ Vitali interrupted him, rising to his feet- and Daniil did the same. ‘I hid at Mikhail’s place! Everything I did was never good enough- I folded the laundry the wrong way. I turned the dishwasher on too early. Overcooked the food a little bit. I was a child!’

‘They both had a job! Was it really that big of a deal to just help out sometimes?’

‘Why did all of that have to come down to me? I didn't even do it right in their eyes-! It wouldn’t have killed you to fucking help me every now and then.’

‘I went to school, had homework!’

‘And what do you think I was doing all fucking day? Getting high behind a dumpster somewhere? I had school too, Daniil, are you fucking dense?’

Silence washed over the room and Daniil bit the inside of his cheek hard, realizing Vitali made a good point. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, redirecting his attention to something behind his brother as he tried to get his heartbeat to settle down.

‘After I left,’ Vitali said, voice slightly shaking, ‘did you have to do anything? Hm? Anything at all? Did you then suddenly receive these, these “adult responsibilities” you speak of, that I should have been grateful for?’

He had not.

Daniil slowly shook his head.

He pulled up his shoulders slightly, eyes finding Vitali again as he braced himself for whatever was to come. But much to his surprise, Vitali merely appeared to deflate; and he sat himself back down in his chair, visibly biting his lip as he shook his head, and a shaky exhale left his nostrils.

‘I did not call you here to fight,’ he quietly said, as Daniil sat back down as well. ‘You’re right- I did not want to be there anymore. I do not feel bad about that. The way they treated me was unfair and I do not have to forgive them for anything. But- I’m sorry for making you feel like I was abandoning you. That was never my intention, but… What else was there for me to do?’

Daniil’s chest tightened and he lowered his gaze, grabbing his own hand and digging his nails into his palm.

‘I cannot say whether they loved you or not, Vitali continued. ‘It would be unfair of me to make a claim like that, but- they were patient with you. It is why they allowed you to focus on school completely without expecting anything else from you. Why they rarely raised their voice at you. Why they let you get away with…a lot of things.’

‘They did not-’

‘No, fuck off. You broke my phone on purpose. Please- do not lie to me right now.’

Daniil closed his mouth. As much as he hated to admit it, that was true.

‘I couldn’t do it all by myself,’ Vitali quietly said. ‘I just needed someone to… But it doesn’t matter, now. I apologize for this. I just- I think father would listen to you more so than he would listen to me. That’s all.’

Everything had been put into a much clearer perspective now. For some reason it had never occurred to him Vitali had also had his school work to worry about, and he supposed it made sense his brother was unable to do all of the other things he had been trusted with alone.

Though there was not much Daniil could do about that now.

‘I- I left under similar circumstances as you,’ he finally managed to say. ‘They believed you abandoned them. And it would not surprise me if they believed the same about me. I… I can’t help you.’

‘We can at least try!’ Vitali interrupted him, the desperation in his voice causing Daniil to exhale sharply and lower his gaze once more. ‘Daniil- Please. I don’t- I don’t want to have to kill him. I couldn’t do that. That’s not who I am.’

The gravity of the situation finally kicked in and Daniil wondered if Vitali had at any point already come close to that.

Had he gotten the opportunity to kill Matvey?

Had Matvey gotten the opportunity to kill Vitali?

Daniil understood there were little options here. What else was there left to do? Bring him to the cops? Their father would either buy his way out or he would end up dead in a cell somewhere. Vitali could keep him locked up himself, but-

Daniil clenched his jaw and pushed the thoughts out of his head. None of it was helping his case.

He knew his answer was going to be no different from how it used to be. Even after the brief confrontation they had just had, he still couldn’t. Why would he risk his own life for this? For either of them? They had stopped being family to him long ago, and it wouldn’t surprise him if he had stopped being family to them as well.

‘I can’t help you.’

The words seemed to echo through the room as silence washed over it. Daniil refused to look at his brother as he got up from the chair and ran his hands over his clothes to straighten them, then went to turn around.

‘We have to try.’

Vitali was begging. It was nearly a bit pathetic, but Daniil was too tired to make a remark about it this time. He caught his brother’s gaze again and shook his head, clenching his fists to keep his anger under control.

‘I don’t have to do anything,’ he bluntly answered. ‘I’m not going to do your dirty work- if anything you’re in this situation because of your own doing.’

‘Daniil-’

‘Goodbye, Vitali.’

The room was cold, suddenly, temperature having dropped significantly from the moment Daniil had gotten back up on his feet. He finally unclenched his fists, and slowly turned around to walk away-

‘What will you do?’

Vitali’s voice was small, barely audible. Daniil did not have to answer him at all; it was his business alone and Vitali had been out of his life for so many years- though something told him it was the least he could do and he turned around again, straightening his back.

‘I’m moving out of town,’ he bluntly said. ‘There is nothing here for me anymore.’

His answer clearly caught Vitali by surprise, judging by the way he sat up a little, a small frown taking shape on his face.

‘My wife has family on the east coast,’ Daniil continued, shrugging as he averted his gaze. ‘We will go there, stay with them while we look for a place good enough for both of us- and the kid, in a few months.’

Dead silence. Of course Vitali didn’t know what to say to that.

Daniil finally ran out of patience and he turned around, then walked over to the door of his brother’s office. Though as he placed his hand on the handle, a strange knot took shape in his chest- it stopped him, and he glanced over his shoulder one last time.

‘I’m sorry.’

A genuine apology.

Perhaps he should have done that more, when they had been young.

Perhaps things would have then been different for them.

But Vitali scoffed in response and he leaned back into his chair, his eyes meeting Daniil’s one last time before slowly wandering off into the room, fists clenched on top of his desk.

‘You’ve never been sorry.’

It was late in the evening when Vitali finally came home.

He was drunk. Of course he was- not as if it was noticeable, as it did very little to him even in greater quantities, but with the amount of vodka and rum in his system it would be a lie to say he wasn’t.

Smelling significantly of cheap booze, cigarette smoke and weed, he quietly closed the front door behind him and quickly made his way through the hallway, to get to his room.

He had spent the entire afternoon over at Mikhail’s place again. The new school year had started and between studying and homework sessions it was all they had done so far- hang out, disappoint their parents, talk for hours and hours on end about absolutely nothing, and then they’d have to go to school again the next day as if nothing had happened the night before.

It was still before midnight this time. For once, Vitali had plenty of time left to sleep.

He briefly glanced to his left before continuing to his bedroom. Curious; the light in the living room was still on, despite his parents not being home. Roksana was staying with a friend for the night, and Daniil should’ve already been in bed.

Sure, he was a troublemaker, but not one to stay up past his bedtime.

Curiosity overtook him and Vitali wandered through the hallway as quietly as he could until he reached the dining table straight ahead, and his eyes were drawn toward the couch, easily finding his little brother. He was curled up, wearing a big hoodie- one of Vitali’s hoodies- and his eyes were closed. He was asleep.

Vitali swayed from left to right a little as he stood indecisively in the middle of the room for a few seconds. It turned into a minute- two, three, four- until he finally regained control of his legs and walked over, then sat down next to Daniil and hesitantly reached for his face.

There was blood on it. Dried up, in the corner of his forehead near his hairline. His lower lip was bruised, and so was his brow.

A wave of panic rushed over Vitali and he was suddenly wide awake, heartbeat picking up as he moved a little closer and softly tapped Daniil’s face. His little brother groaned and slightly moved, but kept his eyes closed.

‘Danya, hey- Wake up,’ Vitali quietly said, now carefully cupping his brother’s face with both hands. ‘Blyat- Please, wake up-’

Daniil’s eyes finally fluttered open and he blinked a few times, slowly sitting up a little straighter the moment he noticed Vitali. Vitali quickly removed his hands in return, but did not move otherwise as he watched his brother slowly rub his eyes and yawn.

‘What happened?’ Vitali quietly asked in Russian, a lump forming in his throat. He was terrified to find out- sure, his parents deemed Daniil old enough to stay home alone, having known Vitali would be away for the afternoon, but it still felt like Vitali’s responsibility to him. And he knew that he would get the blame the next morning either way, once their parents would be home again.

‘Some kids on the docks,’ Daniil simply answered and he shrugged. ‘They called me names and I told them to fu- to piss off.’

Of course. What else could it have been?

Vitali clenched his jaw again and brushed some of Daniil’s hair out of his face. Normally his brother would have swatted his hand away, or snap at him- yet now he just closed his eyes and allowed Vitali to do so, too tired to fight him off.

‘And you didn’t clean your face?’ Vitali asked, nodding at the blood.

Daniil shrugged again, and lowered his gaze. ‘Don’t know how.’

Of course he didn’t.

Silence washed over the room as Vitali let out a sharp sigh and without thinking he reached out to Daniil and pulled him to his chest. Daniil briefly struggled, a bit startled by the sudden gesture; but then sank into Vitali’s arms and buried his face in the soft fabric of his jacket, arms tightly wrapped around his brother’s torso.

Anger was bubbling up in Vitali’s chest, heart still beating wildly- but it was not directed at his brother. Of course not.

It was directed at their parents.

Vitali was not a third parent in the house. None of it was his job- but it sometimes truly felt like it was, the way he and he alone was constantly expected to do things around there and the way he had to teach his younger siblings everything- because if he didn’t, then no one would.

Their parents were barely there. And if they were, then still, in a way, they were not- too busy with work, too tired to care, and it would all come down to Vitali and it was not fucking fair.

And Vitali was seething.

How could they?

How could they continuously refuse to teach their own son anything at all, to the point he did not even know how to take care of his own wounds?

He wished he hadn’t gone to Mikhail. Wished he had just come home- even though he’d had no idea of knowing something like this would even happen. He could’ve at least been there for Daniil right away, instead of so many fucking hours later-

‘You smell weird,’ Daniil suddenly said, breaking the silence as he slowly sat up again.

‘And you look weird,’ Vitali quietly fired back. ‘Makes us even.’

A light smile appeared on Daniil’s face and he briefly closed his eyes again- it was a blink, but lasted much longer because of very visible exhaustion overtaking him.

The kid was a little shit most of the time. But at the end of the day he was still Vitali’s brother. It was easy to forget, sometimes; Vitali had started to disconnect himself from his family members a long time ago already, feeling like he did not belong with them and assuming it would be easier when they would inevitably kick him out- something he had expected to happen when he’d come out to them, yet much to his own surprise he was still there.

‘Come on,’ Vitali quietly said after what felt like forever and he stood up, reaching out for Daniil to help him on his feet.

Not the best relationship- far from it. At each other’s throats most of the time, and Vitali knew that Daniil did not like him in the slightest, and he knew that whatever was going on in that moment was merely because he was exhausted.

But still brothers. And Vitali still had hope.

And Daniil gratefully took his hand as he carefully got up from the couch.

‘Let’s get you cleaned up.’

You’ve never been sorry.

Daniil did not even look in his direction anymore before quickly leaving Vitali’s office, closing the door behind him as careful as he could as if that would somehow make up for everything else.

Vitali sank back into his chair and forcefully rubbed his hand over his face, jaw clenched to the point it was nearly painful; a desperate attempt at staying focused, several forces in his head trying once again to put him in the passenger seat of his own body.

He was nauseous.

The things Daniil had said, had brought up- the argument they’d had- Vitali’s heart was still nearly beating out of his chest and he was shaking all over, his body essentially vibrating- there was no other way for him to describe it. He had not felt that kind of panicked anger in years, buried deep with the rest of his past-

Yet Daniil had managed to awaken it flawlessly.

A wife. And a kid, soon.

His baby brother was all grown up now.

Tears welled up in Vitali’s eyes and he forcefully rubbed them away, barely noticing the door open; for a brief moment he thought Daniil had turned back, made up his mind; but it was Mikhail instead. He instantly noticed Vitali’s stressed demeanor and hurried himself over- and Vitali rose to his feet and allowed Mikhail to hug him tightly, burying his face in the shirt of his friend and letting a shaky exhale leave his lips.

‘You’re okay,’ Mikhail quietly said in Russian, planting a kiss on top of Vitali’s head and softly running his hand through his hair. ‘It’s over. He’s gone.’

He’s gone.

Not a surprise at all to Vitali. He could’ve known this would happen when he first reached out to him- yet something had caused him to try anyway, and despite having been fully aware of this possible outcome his disappointment still hit him like a truck.

‘Worst experience of my life,’ he bluntly mumbled and slowly let go of Mikhail. ‘But at least I tried.’

‘You did,’ Mikhail said, clear hesitation in his voice. He paused and brushed some of Vitali’s hair out of his face. ‘Was he able to tell you anything of use?’

Vitali’s mind wandered back to everything they had talked about- Arasaka firing him, their parents’ favoritism, Daniil leaving home, and him telling Vitali he wasn’t even going to try to help-

‘No.’

An absolute waste of time.

Vitali dropped himself back in his chair and placed his elbows on his desk, dropping his face in his hands with an embarrassed sigh. Mikhail walked back around the desk and sat down on the same chair Daniil had sat in, and he shoved it closer until he was close enough to grab Vitali’s hands.

‘Is he working with your father?’ he quietly asked.

‘I don’t think so, no,’ Vitali miserably answered. He lifted his head again and allowed Mikhail to drag his hands to the desk, his thumbs rubbing reassuring circles over the palms of Vitali’s hands.

‘He left home after our parents were fired. Has not spoken to them in years. He’s been fired too now, but- I do not think he went back for them. He’s too stubborn for that- you know this.’

A soft chuckle left Mikhail’s lips and he nodded. ‘Believe me, I do.’

Vitali wouldn’t call himself an optimist. A realist at best- but he knew pessimism would not get him anywhere and he didn’t see the point in claiming there was nothing there could be done without at least assessing the situation in question. A weak excuse in his eyes, to get to stand on the sidelines and watch it all happen without having to lift a finger.

Daniil was like that. Had always been like that. When they had been younger- “I don’t know how to do that, I can’t help you”- and unfortunately still to this day, as much as Vitali had hoped it would’ve been different now; and not at any point had his brother considered that he can learn, or that he can at least try.

‘Why did you do that?’

Vitali blinked and looked back up at Mikhail, momentarily having forgotten he was still there. Mikhail had a concerned look in his eyes, hands still tightly holding Vitali’s, and the moment their eyes met he had to avert his gaze.

‘Do what?’ Vitali asked, shifting on his seat. His heartbeat suddenly sped up- as if he feared whatever Mikhail was going to say.

‘Talk about how he got fired. Back in the hall.’

An unexpected question.

Vitali blinked and his eyes briefly wandered off as he frowned and thought back to the moment Mikhail was talking about. He had been in his office, at the time; had heard a scuffle in the hall and had rushed in as quickly as he could, half expecting Ravager to have escaped the room they kept him in, or perhaps his father had sent more people their way-

‘Well, I-’ he quietly started, but his voice faltered again. Despite having been the one to call Daniil, he had not expected to see his brother. Truly had not expected him to show up, for some reason; and now he wished he hadn’t.

It had been strange to see him again after so long. Daniil had gotten a late growth spurt; last time they had seen each other he’d been the same height as Vitali and now he was nearly as tall as Mikhail.

Taller, definitely older, but still- unmistakably his brother.

‘Daniil thinks very highly of himself,’ Vitali finally continued, once again making eye contact with Mikhail. ‘I had to pull him off his throne, one way or another. He would not have been willing to talk otherwise. And he attacked Cato. He had it coming.’ A short pause and Vitali’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Is she alright, by the way?’

‘She’s fine, yes,’ Mikhail quickly answered. ‘Vincent is taking her for a walk right now.’

‘Good.’

It wasn’t a surprise to Vitali that Cato’s past came back to bite her in the ass; it was Kang Tao after all, and as much as Vitali had promised her he would keep her safe there was only so much he could do.

He had just not expected it to walk right through his front door, with his own brother of all people.

Daniil had gotten fired because he had been unable to track her down. Vitali did not doubt Kang Tao had by now put someone else on the job; Cato was a loose end and needed to be dealt with, much like her other squad members who were- hopefully- still somewhere out there.

But that was a problem for later. They had bigger issues to deal with now.

Vitali just hoped Daniil wouldn’t go running back to the corporation now that he knew of Cato’s whereabouts.

‘Why do you ask?’ he asked Mikhail, still wondering about the relevance of the question. Mikhail had pulled back his hands and now leaned back in the chair, shrugging as he tapped on Vitali’s desk twice and some quiet noises rolled off his tongue.

‘Don’t know. Just making sure.’

For some reason, Vitali’s mind wandered back to the conversation they’d had some nights earlier; how he had asked Vincent and Mikhail to let him know if he were to start showing any signs of becoming like his father. A knot took shape in his stomach and he clenched his jaw, eyes fixed right on Mikhail as he watched him trying to find the right words to say.

‘I worry about you,’ he eventually said, reaching out for Vitali’s desk again to tap it once more. ‘You… You did not tell us about this. You close yourself off.’

‘I didn’t want this to become your problem, too,’ Vitali answered, perhaps a bit quicker than he had meant for. ‘Any of this, for that matter.’

He spoke the truth. And on top of that, had also not wanted to risk the possibility of getting into an argument about it; he knew that especially Mikhail would have disagreed with him, and that had happened just a bit too often lately in Vitali’s honest opinion.

‘Do you truly believe it is your fault that Matvey is attacking you?’ Mikhail suddenly asked, once more catching Vitali off guard with the question. He had the same sternness to his voice as the few nights before; and he leaned in closer again, reaching for Vitali’s hand once more- but Vitali pulled it away now.

‘Vito-’ Mikhail briefly paused and exhaled sharply, lowering his voice when he continued. ‘Your father has gone completely off the rails. You accidentally got him fired, did not even know about this, and he decided the most logical steps to take after it were to become obsessed with you and attempt to kill your loved ones.’

‘I have not handled a single of his attacks well,’ Vitali interrupted him, his voice a little sharper than before- though none of it was directed at Mikhail. ‘People have gotten injured because of that. Because of me.’

‘That’s not true!’ Mikhail fired back. ‘Most of them have passed by without injuries or casualties- because of you. Everyone is still alive, yes? Nobody has died.’

‘Yet.’

‘And no one will die.’

‘You don’t know that.’

Another silence and Vitali bit the inside of his cheek hard, averting his gaze.

He was terrified of that happening. So far they’d been lucky- lucky, that nobody on their side had been flatlined yet. It could’ve happened on many occasions, and if things were to continue as they were going at that point, Vitali truly could not say for sure whether or not he would be able to keep everyone safe.

‘He killed Dupoint,’ Mikhail promptly said, breaking the silence, his voice suddenly a little hesitant. ‘His right hand man.’

Vitali still had not been able to get that out of his head. Death had never bothered him all that much before. But for some reason- this was different.

Sometimes when he would close his eyes, he could still see Dupoint fall.

His eyes found Mikhail’s again. Something about his demeanor had changed; his eyes were slightly unfocused and his fists balled, hands white knuckled as he visibly did everything he could to keep his tics in. His mouth was half open, as if he wanted to say something, a question lingering on his tongue-

‘Would you kill me?’

What?

Mikhail’s voice was small. Scared, almost. Though at the same time he did not break eye contact with Vitali even once, patiently awaiting an answer, face a little paler than it had been before.

‘What-?’ Vitali managed to force out of himself. ‘I- Of course not! I wouldn’t- I would never-’

For some reason, he was unable to finish his sentence.

He had almost killed Mikhail, once. Brainwashed by Arasaka- had driven his mantis blade straight through Mikhail’s chest and had it been only a little bit to the left-

Vitali rose to his feet and stumbled around his desk, tears blurring his vision as he reached for Mikhail, no longer knowing what to expect, no longer sure if Mikhail even wanted him close but there was nothing else he could think of doing-

Mikhail gratefully pulled Vitali closer, not getting up from the chair, and buried his face in his chest.

Vitali leaned heavily on his knees on the chair, one on either side of Mikhail as he tightly held him by his shoulders and head, tears flowing freely from his eyes once more.

Almost.

But not quite.

‘You care about us, Vito,’ Mikhail quietly said, slightly tilting his head so Vitali could hear him. ‘You have always cared- and you will always do. Nothing could ever change that; I know you. I have, for so long- you never stopped caring. No one will die, because- you would never allow that to happen.’

He was right.

Vitali was not going to stand by and let any of his mercs die. Night City’s fate, his own fate- none of it mattered, really. What mattered to him were the lives of those around him and his father had put them in danger one too many times; and Vitali was going to do whatever he had to do in order to stop that from happening.

Mikhail looked up at him, gently cupping his face to force Vitali to look down. He had tears in his eyes as well, though seemed to handle it a little better, and his thumb gently ran over Vitali’s cold skin as he carefully wiped some of his tears away.

‘No one will die,’ he repeated himself. ‘Yes?’

Vitali felt a weight lift off his shoulders, and he slowly nodded in response.

‘No one will die.’

#nuclearwriting #rbs much appreciated :) <3 #daniil my most hated. he's not my most hated actually but. oh my god #this chapter was very difficult to write <3 #[looks at vitali. looks in the mirror. looks at vitali. looks away in shame]#they were both just kids. i'm augrhhgfnh. it's fine #holding daniil at gunpoint to make an effort but he's already left the room. it's fine #ANYWAY. NEXT CHAPTER IS CHAPTER 10 AKA LAST CHAPTER OF PART 2 BABEY #i'll need more time to write that one but hehehehehhehee >:) tee hee #ch:the broker

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