As the car pulled into the warehouse, David noticed V's black Arch Nazarre motorcycle was already there. Explained why the car was already running back at the apartment complex. Entering through the garage door, he saw the former Arasaka agent moving around the place, looking in corners, underneath tables, and running their hand along the cables and wires on the walls as they searched for something. As the rest of the crew entered after him, they looked up and dusted off their pants. "Got here first, swept the place. Don't see any bugs, prints, or other indicators we're compromised. Think we're safe."
Nodding, David stepped aside as Dorio stumbled in. The big woman stepped backwards to let herself fall into the couch in a limp heap, then buried her face in her hands. Tears began to slip through her fingers, and as she sobbed, Rebecca just stared at her. Clenching her fist, she opened her mouth, then paused. Her bottom lip trembled for a moment before she simply wheeled and faced the wall. Shaking with rage, she drew back her fist and slammed it against the unforgiving metal. "FUCK! I can't believe…" Descending into inarticulate mumbling, she slowly sank down and leaned against the wall.
Looking around, it seemed like everyone was tense, and there were more than a few glances between Rebecca and Dorio. Looking at V, they were scanning the various members of the crew, moving from one to the next while holding their chin. Turning to Jackie, they leaned in and whispered to him. Frowning, he jerked a quick nod at Kiwi, then whispered back. After a moment, V shrugged. Jackie nodded decisively, then clapped twice sharply. David's tio stepped forwards, and raised his hands. "Look. We're all tense. As much as I get your desire to not be alone, Kiwi"—he glanced over and offered an apologetic shrug—"if we stay all together like this, we're gonna be at each other's throats."
David couldn't help but notice he was very pointedly not looking at Rebecca or Dorio. The words were addressed to the whole room, but his gaze was slipping past them. The pair were also avoiding each other's eyes, occasionally stealing a glance to make sure the other wasn't doing so as well. It was uncomfortable as hell, and while his instincts told him to help, his sense of self-preservation was telling him to keep his mouth shut.
Kiwi tilted her head for a moment, then sighed. "You have a point. I just…" Her eyes flicked around the room for a moment, then closed. "No. You're right. I'll… I might—" She was fumbling her words, and David had to wonder if there was a reason she was having difficulty with this. After a moment, Lucy leaned forwards and touched Kiwi's shoulder, who flinched for a moment but didn't pull away.
"Come stay with me, alright? I've got space." Kiwi glanced back at the younger netrunner, then nodded mutely. Looking at the others, Lucy pursed her lips for a moment. "We'll… take a cab or something. There's only a car and a bike here, and I don't think the bike can fit three."
V nodded. "We could try, but I can't recommend it. I'll leave the delivery of the rest of the crew to those more capable of driving without attracting attention, if that's alright?" Jackie gave a quick thumbs up, and V straightened up, heading for the doorway with Kiwi and Lucy. "In that case… I hope to work with you all again. But I think we need some time to decompress after that. Stay safe, chooms." They gave a slightly pained but sympathetic smile, and ducked out. Moments later, the sound of their motorcycle roaring to life and then getting progressively quieter punctuated their exit.
The four of them were left alone together. The quietly weeping Dorio, the silent Rebecca, him, and his tio. After a few minutes of silence, David spoke up. "Rebecca. You good to be taken home?" From where she was sat against the wall, fury still evident in her narrowed eyes, she slowly nodded and stood.
Jackie moved over to Dorio, and helped her to her feet. "C'mon. Let's get you home." Together, they shuffled back into the car, locking the garage behind them. David got in the back with Rebecca, and Dorio slumped in the passenger seat as Jackie turned the key. Glancing over, he could see Rebecca twitching every time caught a glimpse of Dorio, sucking in a breath or starting to sit up before settling down again. Eventually, she just turned and looked out the window.
The car pulled out and joined the early morning traffic in silence. It wasn't until they were midway towards Watson that Dorio finally choked out a sentence. "I can't believe he—fuck, I told him. He didn't deserve this." Rebecca violently flinched, then whipped around to stare at her. Her lips pressed together, and she spoke in a flat, dangerously still tone.
"Your boyfriend fucking flatlined my brother. Feel free to be fucking upset, but I'm having a hard time hearing it when he went psycho because he was too proud to admit he couldn't handle the entire back catalogue of cyberware he had jammed into him." Her lips spread as she bared her teeth in a feral grimace, leaning forwards. "So. Shut! UP!" Gritting his teeth, David grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her back into her seat. She whipped her glare over to him, then after a moment, shook his hand off.
Dorio slowly raised her head, hair shadowing her face. One eye slowly tilted backwards, as she stared over her shoulder at Rebecca. Then, with a screech, they came to a stop. Jackie cleared his throat, staring forwards and resting his cheek on one fist. "There's bumper-to-bumper traffic from here to Rebecca's. Might be faster to just drop you off here." Looking out, it seemed that was true. There was a long line of cars up the road, and lights flashing.
"Fine." As she opened the door and hopped out, David turned to Jackie.
"I'm gonna make sure she gets home okay." Sliding out after her, David jogged for a second until he was on the sidewalk next to Rebecca.
As they pulled away from the curb, Dorio looked back at Jackie. "You plan that, or…"
"Nah. Just luck. Listen… I knew this guy. He went psycho, really hurt a lotta people. His name was Dario." At this, she snorted. Looking at him with mild disdain, she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I appreciate you're trying to help, but seriously? Dario? Couldn't even put effort into the fake story?" Eyes red and watery, irritation was still an emotion other than despair. Still, Jackie couldn't help but scowl at the insinuation. Fucksake, hermana. Give me some fuckin' credit.
"So, as I was saying, my brother, Dario. David's father." Dorio jolted, then looked over with disbelief. Upon seeing his unamused expression, she coughed and sat back in her seat. "People got similar names, choom. I ain't that dumb. Anyway… he was a Valentino. Started as a legbreaker, got promoted, but he wasn't too good at it. Didn't have the cleverness, the wit. So he decided to buy it."
Tapping the wheel, Jackie rubbed a hand across his mouth for a moment. "Neural boosters, increased reflexes, everything he could jam into his head. He started getting irrational, paranoid. Convinced that all the people telling him to dial it back were just trying to sabotage him. He had always been a gonk, but the chrome had him acting like a whole 'nother person. He was out of control."
Dorio nodded slowly, just listening as Jackie spoke. The light changed, and they pulled forward to merge onto the highway, heading up the on-ramp as Jackie glanced over again. "Last time I saw him, we had a fistfight. I was begging him to dial it back, do something. He didn't take it so well, nearly strangled me, then he drove off. Next time I saw him, it was on the news bein' loaded into a body bag. He zeroed nearly a dozen people downtown before the cops put a shotgun to his skull, and kept pullin' the trigger till it clicked."
"He wasn't like that. Maine wasn't just some boosted-up idiot, he was… Maine was around more. I could have… if I had just gotten through to him…!" Her voice was thick with frustration and resentment, but he could also hear the self-loathing, the blame she had to keep for herself so it wouldn't fall at her lover's feet. "I mean, fuck. I used to be just some fuckin' random-ass Animal gangoon, then I got hired as muscle for a job with Maine. Hit it off, started working together… We always had each other, and I failed him. I failed the whole crew."
Jackie tapped the wheel, and considered his next words. It was clear that Dorio was spiralling deeper into the guilt and confusion, and he wasn't even sure if he could really help. Maine was gone, there was no changing that or making it better. He could try, though. Taking a deep breath, he let it out and then reached over to grab Dorio's shoulder for a moment. "You did everything you could, Dorio. I could see it. Gonna have to come to terms with that, even if you can't forgive yourself." He withdrew his hand, and gripped the wheel again. "I never did."
She nodded mutely, and withdrew into herself, seeming to shrink as she rested her head against the glass. There were no more words after that, just the dull thrum of the highway beneath their wheels.
As David followed Rebecca on to the street, she looked up, and after a second, gave him a small smile. "What's up, Dimples? Worried about me?" Lifting a thumb, she pointed it at herself and shook her head. "Just pissed about Dorio. I'll be fine." Her face was full of confidence, but there was something screaming in the back of David's head that she wasn't doing as well as she wanted him to think. He couldn't place where it was coming from, but he was going to listen to his instincts here. He shrugged in response, and gestured up the street with one thumb as he slid the other one into his jacket pocket.
"Well, what if there's trouble up there? Don't want you going without backup, yeah?" It was a flimsy excuse, but whether or not she believed it, Rebecca seemed to accept it. Turning, she began to walk slowly up the sidewalk. The light was peeking through the buildings now, long shadows retreating in the early hours of the day. The neon was dimming, and thin wisps of fog were clinging to the bottom of each building like a throng of drowning men to driftwood.
As they walked, David looked her over. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was staring listlessly, eyes focused on a horizon that couldn't be seen. It took a minute to find the right words, but when they finally came, he had to crack a smile at the irony. "Tell me about Pilar."
"Huh?" Head snapping towards him, an echo of the Rebecca that David had first met all that time ago could be heard in her voice. "Why the hell do you wanna hear about that jackass? If you're expecting some dumb story about how he had a secret heart of gold, he only got as far as his hands, and I'm pretty sure his dick was next on the list."
"Yeah, but…well, I never really got to interact with him much. We did a couple jobs, had a few parties, and he tried to take me to a BD club once. Lizzie's." At this, Rebecca facepalmed.
"Of-fahking course he did. Lemme guess, he said he had an 'in' or a 'discount'?" When David nodded, she threw up her hands in exasperation. "That prick! He's tried using the fact that I worked for the Mox to get a discount or freebies at Lizzies so many times they put a sign up saying 'We don't do employee discounts'." Shoulders slumped, bags under her eyes, but a stream of rage was keeping her animated as she recounted the many sins of her late brother.
Raising his hands, David coughed. "I mean, I didn't go." He had considered it, but he had remembered walking in on Doc, and got real self-conscious. "But yeah, I mean…what was he like?" The flashing lights they had seen earlier were moving away down a sidestreet now. Seemed like an ambulance. A truck was hauling away a crumpled car as well, beeping as it reversed.
"You really wanna know?" Rebecca asked, spitting her gum out and staring at him with half-lidded eyes. "He was a perverted moron who never shut up and liked to show off." Spreading her hands, she waggled them back and forth for a moment. "That's it. He's always been like that, ever since we left home. Only interested in getting his dick wet." A few cars started moving to their left, as up ahead the traffic jam began to clear out.
"Is that…I mean, a lot of people are pretty focused on that. You said you worked for the Mox, right?" David said, suddenly wondering how to handle this particular line of thought. He was a healthy young man, and Rebecca…never mind that. A few Tiger Claws strode past, arguing about something in Japanese.
"There's a difference between being horny and being a horndog, David," Rebecca responded, a note of amusement in her tone. "I'm not against people wanting to get laid, not by a longshot. It's fun, it feels good, what's not to love? Pilar, though…he couldn't take a hint and it drove everyone nuts. Slappin' girls on the ass, tryin' to get with the workers for free, shit like that." Scuffing her foot against the sidewalk for a moment, she hissed out a low groan.
"He was so…so entitled. When I finally got enough for a place, he cheered about how he wouldn't have to sleep on cardboard anymore. Of course, I was gonna invite him, 'cause I felt bad, but he acted like I owed him it. Took him 4 months to make enough to start paying his half of the rent." She sighed, running a hand through her hair and shaking it.
"Sounds like he was a lot to deal with," David mused, scratching the side of his face. It didn't surprise him all that much, even if it felt wrong to speak ill of the dead like that. Pilar had been a chaotic, brash guy as long as David had known him. Even if that hadn't been all that long. Rebecca had known him all her life though, and it sounded like the way he behaved wasn't a new thing. "Saw you guys bickering a few times, not really what about though."
"Eh, usually the same shit. Him hitting on someone as crudely as possible, or insisting he was right about something." She shook her head in disgust, then pointed up the road. "Right over there, that crosswalk. Last argument we had. I talked about how he kept ruining—" She stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Kept ruining things for me, including taking me away from our parents. They were bastards too, maybe worse than Pilar. Corpo-fuckers who treated us like tools."
Shrugging, she looked away from the crosswalk and back to David. "We had money, food, didn't have to worry about getting zero'd…Pilar always pushed them, though. Kinda wonder if he had just shut up and been less of an issue, maybe they wouldn't have been so bad. Either way, there was a robbery, and when he ran, he took me with."
"That fucker insisted it was for my own good, and I kept telling him, that even if it was, he had never once apologized. Nearly 10 years, and he didn't say sorry once." Her walk slowed, and tears began to spill from her eyes. Her anger ebbed, as the last visible group of people on the street turned the corner and vanished, leaving the pair alone as she wept. Half-raising a hand, David began to move towards her as she came to a stop, still staring at nothing. "Fuck, why am I… He was such a bastard, so why…why does it still hurt so fucking much?" As she rubbed one eye with the side of her hand, David moved forwards and wrapped his arms around her. Resting his head on her shoulder as he squatted a bit, he spoke quietly.
"It's okay to mourn the people who are gone, even if they were awful. I was sad to hear my dad was dead, even if he was shitty to my mom. We can't help how we feel." At this, Rebecca gave a slightly muffled laugh.
"You got that right…" As he leaned back, letting her loose, she let go but just rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. "It's bullshit… wasn't even his fault. I was always convinced he was gonna get his nuts blown off by an angry hooker. Piss someone off in a bar and get beaten to death or something. Instead, he gets zeroed because our chromefreak leader couldn't kick his cyberware habit." Up ahead, he could see the apartment building where Rebecca lived. As they reached the stairs, she slowed to a stop and looked up the concrete steps.
"... Come on." Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and began to walk up the stairs. David couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu. Hadn't he done this with Lucy just the other day? As they ascended the stairs, Rebecca fished out a key and slid the door open. Marching across the room, she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the door on the opposite side of the apartment. David glanced over at the workbench in the corner, a pair of gunmetal cyberhands still resting on one side, and said nothing.
Opening the door to her bedroom, Rebecca walked over to the bed and gave him a slight push. Sitting down obligingly, he watched as she stepped away, then pulled her jacket off. "Rebecca, what are you—"
"Shh. Just… call me Becca, okay? Please." Her voice was low and intense, and he could feel blood rushing to his cheeks at the half-lidded look in her eyes. Reaching up, she took off her headband and hair ties, placing them on the desk before walking back across the room to him. Climbing onto the bed, she wrapped her arms around his middle and then flopped over. Pulled backwards, he found himself lying on her pile of bedclothes.
From her position with face pressed into his side, she mumbled, "Take your shoes off. Don't want mud on my bed." Pressing his heel to his other ankle, he quickly shucked his sneakers. After a bit of bending, he managed to get his jacket off as well, and lay back down. He could feel his heart thundering as a pair of crimson eyes peeked through a cascade of pale green hair.
"R- Becca, what…" He swallowed thickly, throat feeling like it was closing up. The room had fallen away, and he was deeply tempted to get closer to her. "What do you want from me?" He couldn't quite manage to voice the now very apparent feeling of pleasant warmth that radiated from where he could feel Rebecca's skin against his own, as well as the wriggling feeling of guilt that rose from deep in his gut to fight it.
"I think you know what I want, David," she responded in a husky voice, a small smile crossing her face. Then, it vanished once more, and she pressed her face into his side again. "But not tonight. Not like this. I don't want to guilt you into anything, or manipulate you, or some shit. Just… hold me, okay? That's all I'm asking right now. You don't have to betray anything. Just hold me. Please."
Trying to take the knowledge that Rebecca had been aware of how he glanced at Lucy now and then in stride, he allowed another question to tumble out of his brain and onto his lips. "Betray? Becca, Lucy and I aren't dating. I can't betray—I wasn't thinking—" He swallowed the end of that sentence, realizing it would be a lie. Not to mention, she hadn't actually said Lucy's name. That was all on him. There was a sniffling laugh from his side.
"Who was the gonk saying 'we can't help how we feel' before?" Becca asked, tone much drier than her eyes. "I want you to be happy too, okay? You're a good guy, David. You care more than most people in this hellhole city. Don't be ashamed of that big heart of yours."
Laying there in the dark, Rebecca curled up along his side as he began to unconsciously stroke her hair, David felt that heart twisting in two separate directions. Lucy was gorgeous, suave, and kind of mysterious. He still remembered the flash of her hair passing him, the braindance on the moon… It was entrancing. But thinking over their interactions…they didn't really know much about each other. They had barely talked, and that night on the couch together had been one of silence and sleep. It was a good memory, but it wasn't a deeply emotional one. Not like…
Rebecca was blunt. Sarcastic, excited, and open about things. She had sat and listened to him talk about his mom, looked after him when he was blitzed out of his mind. There was an earnestness to her that he was realizing he might have taken for granted. He didn't want to lose her either. It seemed like she had her own feelings for him too, he wasn't so dense as to miss that. She had been there for him, and she had clearly put her wants aside for his feelings.
Staring up at the ceiling, David finally came to the inescapable conclusion that he had two girls he cared about, and no goddamn idea what the hell to do about it.
Well, there was one idea, but it was reckless, and kind of stupid. Rather than scoping things out, he'd just kick the door in and settle things one way or another. Seemed to work well enough for his tio, though. Fuck it. Flicking through his contacts list, he dialed Lucy's number.
Sitting sprawled out on the roof as she looked up at the sky, Lucy exhaled a plume of smoke and raised an eyebrow as she saw the incoming call notification. Next to her, Kiwi was halfway through a pack, flicking the latest dud off the roof to tumble into the void below. The faint glowing light passed by darkened windows, filthy rooftops, and vanished into the heaps of trash and maze of people at the bottom of the ravine.
As the moonlight streamed down onto her face, she answered. "David. What's up? Everything okay?"
"Yeah. More or less. Got everyone home safe, seems like. I just—" He cut off for a moment, as if thinking. "I had a question. You showed me that braindance, remember?" Her heart seemed to pause for a moment, and she bit through her cigarette. Where was this going? Why was he asking about this? "You said it was your dream to go to the moon. That mean you want to leave Night City one day? Leave the crew?"
Spitting out the stubby remnants of her smoke, she wiped her mouth as she considered the question. "I suppose so. This city… I hate it. It grabs at your ankles, beckons you into alleys. Every day it eats away a little at your soul. Going to the moon, leaving it all behind? That's my dream."
"I guess I can get that. There are people here who would miss you, yknow?"
She chuckled. "Well, two tickets is probably doable, if you're that sad about the idea of me leaving. Take a while of saving up though." This job had been a decent start, enough of a chunk of change to get her part of the way there. With all the work she had done, she was approaching a hundred thousand eddies saved.
"I don't know if I can do that. The BD was amazing, but…" David sighed. "I've got too much back here in Night City. It's where I grew up, where my family is, the crew. Maybe one day I'll be ready to leave, but right now… that just doesn't sound like something I want." Lucy opened her mouth, ready to snap back, but then David continued and her angry words died in her throat. "If that's your dream, I'll help you get there. I don't know how much of the crew is sticking together after this, but tio Jackie and V, that's two at least. We'll make it work."
Covering her mouth, Lucy nodded jerkily, aware that he couldn't see her. "Thank you, David. You mean a lot to me, you know that?" It wasn't just words, either. She was happy she had taken a chance on the angry punk who had grabbed her hand that day on the metro. It felt like forever ago.
"You mean a lot to me too. I just… don't know in what way." His voice was hesitant, as if afraid he'd offend her. "I want to be there for you." This was a very difficult to parse conversation. Why was he asking this?
Then, it clicked. He had always been a little obvious, a little blushy around her, but it hadn't really gone anywhere. She had considered asking him out, but it had been pushed from her mind by the work with V and then the attack. That evening when they fell asleep together, she had felt…
Safe. She felt safe around him. Like he had her back. He wasn't bad to look at either, but there was a creeping feeling that perhaps what she really valued about David was his support. Having someone there for her. "I want that too. To have you there, and to be there for you when you need me. We're partners after all. Why?"
"I'm… finding myself feeling very oblivious, and very confused, Lucy. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to explain it. I'm just worried I'll lose the people I care about."
"David." She spoke softly, a gentle smile on her face. "Are you at Rebecca's right now?" Her own mind was churning like the ocean during a storm, but somehow she felt peaceful. Alone, nobody in the world but her and David, speaking to each other from separate voids. The moon below them, and the endless heavens of space above.
"How did you— Yeah. I am. Was I that obvious?" Leaning back, she chuckled.
"Well, you said you were feeling confused." Lighting another cigarette, she hummed for a moment. "You're a good guy, David. Let me put it like this. As long as you're there for me, I'll be there for you. If that's friends, partners, or something more… It doesn't make much difference to me. Do what makes you happy. It's why I'm still aiming for the moon."
David's voice came back, sounding slightly relieved. "You've got a point. Thanks Lucy. Be safe." Then the line cut out. Lucy chuckled ruefully, and looked over as Kiwi arched an eyebrow.
"What was that call about? You look like you belong on the cover of a drama virtu right now."
Taking a drag from her cigarette, Lucy lay back down on the roof. "I was playing a game, and I finally asked myself what I really wanted out of it. Turns out, I think I already had it." Letting the smoke spiral upwards into the air, she rested her hands on her stomach, and watched it fly away into the towering skyline of the city as she drifted off into her own thoughts.
As David hung up the call, he felt more at peace with himself. He still wasn't sure what he wanted, but knowing that he wasn't going to drive people away finding out? It helped.
Against his side, Becca stirred. "w're you callin' s'mone?" she mumbled, blinking a in sleepy, muddled stupor. Leaning down, David kissed her head.
"Just checking in on a friend. Don't worry about it, Becca. I'm here." he felt her lips shift against his skin, a satisfied smile as she fell back to sleep.
"Good."
(A/N: Editing by Golden_, SPAG by somnolentSlumber )
