David's mom hadn't taught him much about relationships. He doubted she expected to leave him so young. If there was something she taught him though, it was about compromise.
Compromise was getting to visit her as she was leaving her job and going out for pierogis instead of tagging along to potentially dangerous crime scenes.
Compromise was David taking the metro to school, even when his mom would try insisting on driving him because it wasn't safe for him on the street, because he knew his mom was running herself ragged with work.
Compromise was what led David to this dark store, smelling like incense, with charms hanging from the ceiling.
"I really don't get why we have to come here." David groaned, tapping his foot impatiently. He had already hit his head on a dream catcher on his way in. "If I need to get a checkup, I could always just visit Doc."
Lucy glared at him, taking his hand in her own.
"Not happening." she said flatly. "We're going to give this new ripper a try, ok?"
David sighed "Fine, fine" He doubted he would win if he tried to argue.
"You're in good hands." the lady behind the counter said with a smile. "Doctor Viktor is one of the best ripperdocs in Night City."
"That's a relief." Lucy said with a smile, "David, what did you say your ripperdoc's name was?"
David gave her a look, brows furrowed, "You know Doc." he said plainly.
"Doc isn't a name" she said with a victorious smile.
David pouted. "Fine, fine." he sighed, "Point taken."
David let himself zone out while Lucy chatted politely with the woman by the counter, in this state of zen, he still picked up on a few things from their conversation.
The woman's name was Misty, she was Polish, just like Lucy was, apparently she was loaded, given that she could afford to rent a store that nearly nobody visited except for people looking for a good ripperdoc.
"David?" Misty's voice snapped him out of his trance. "Doctor Viktor will see you now."
"Thanks, Misty." he said, getting up from the, admittedly comfortable, sofa that she had in a corner, he turned to Lucy. "Coming with?"
"That even a question?" Lucy said with a smirk.
David and Lucy made their way through the back of Misty's shop, into an alleyway.
"Polish, huh?" David said, partially to himself.
"and Japanese." Lucy said, "Didn't mean to keep it from you, it just... never came up. You know?"
"Yeah, guess so." David muttered as they went down a set of bare concrete steps.
Seemingly feeling the tension between them, Lucy grabbed David's hand, stopping in her steps.
"Hey." she said, placing her other hand on his cheek. "I'll tell you everything once we're done here. Okay?"
"Promise?" he asked, smiling internally.
Guess Lucy's working on her compromises too.
"Promise." she said, placing a kiss on his lips and letting go of his hand. "But ripper first."
As they reached the bottom of the steps, David reached out to open the gate, only for it to slide open. Leaving David face to face with a large man wearing Valentino colors.
"Perdón" the man said, sidestepping the couple as he left the clinic. "See you 'round, Vik!"
"Stay out of trouble, y'hear?" a voice called from deeper inside. "And give your 'ma my regards!"
As they entered the clinic, David felt simultaneously relieved and yet anxious. There was no denying that it was bare, however it also meant that the clinic itself was clean and uncluttered.
The ripper, a man that looked to be in his sixties, turned to face them.
"Ah," he said, placing his tools in a tray and setting them aside. "You must be David."
"That's me." David replied, "Big place you got. My old ripper barely had space for a chair."
"Hmm." the doctor said as he wiped down the operating chair. "Have a seat, you're here for a check up, yes? No chrome you were thinking about getting today?"
David passed his jacket to Lucy, sliding into the chair. "Well-" he started, "I mean if-"
"Just the check-up." Lucy cut him off, shooting him a glare. "For today at least."
"Alrighty then" the doctor said as he pulled out a clean set of tools.\
Clean? Doc never really bothered with clean. He just gave them a quick rinse with disinfectant and got to carving.
Pulling out a medical syringe, Viktor felt out David's arm for a good spot.
"Just gonna give you some quick anesthetic before I check what's under the hood." the doctor explained.
"Anesthetic" David whistled, "Fancy. My old doc would just tell me to try not to pass out."
"I'm gonna hope that's a joke." Viktor deadpanned.
"I wish." Lucy joked from the corner of the clinic, David's jacket folded neatly on her lap.
"Lights out for a minute, Okay?" Viktor said, plugging in to David's Neural Link.
David wanted to say something, a joke to break the tension, an answer to the affirmative, but darkness overtook him far too quickly.
He was floating, then all of a sudden he wasn't.
When he opened his eyes, David was standing in a desert.
He looked around, trying to find a sign, or a road, anything that could lead him back to the City, to Lucy.
In the distance he saw three figures, squinting, trying to fight past the harsh rays, he saw them.
Dorio.
Pilar.
Maine.
He tried running after them, but he couldn't find any purchase in the sand. Looking down, he understood why.
His legs were gone, replaced with an unnatural amalgamation of guns. The more David tried to shake them off, the deeper he sank into the sand.
He tried calling out to Maine, to Pilar, to Dorio. Trying to beg for help, but his voice was replaced by the screech of metal against metal.
Eventually the metal gave out. Snapping with a horrible crunch and sending David tumbling to the floor. He started crawling, but he felt too sluggish.
All he could do was struggle as he started to sink beneath the sand.
Just keep running.
Maine's voice shook David out of his lethargy, giving him enough energy to scramble to the surface. Something was different, he felt lighter, he felt a tingle down his spine, looking down, he saw his legs had been returned to him somehow.
Getting to his feet, he dusted himself off before running across the desert to where his fallen friends waited for him.
"Maine!" he shouted, laughing giddily. "Dorio! Pilar!"
He came to a stop before them.
"I don't understand! how are you here?" David said, catching his breath. "You're... dead..."
Looking around, David swallowed nervously. "Wait... am I dead?"
Maine looked at him, his face a portrait of serenity.
"David." he said, voice fond, smile tender. "It's the end of the road for me, for us."
He felt Maine's large hand tousling his hair.
"But it doesn't have to be for you." Dorio continued. "Follow your gut, kiddo. Follow Lucy."
"Hey Davey." Pilar said, calmer than he had ever seen the eccentric Techie. "Take care of Becca for me, choom."
David breathed in deeply. He felt light, he felt good.
"I will, I won't forget any of you."
And all of a sudden, the world went black once more.
"Aand he should be back with us right about now." Viktor's voice cut through the darkness, the lights in the clinic blinding him.
David raised a hand, trying to block out the light.
"How do you feel?" Lucy's soft hands took David's spare as the netrunner's face came into view, David smiled.
"Hi." he whispered, Lucy giggled softly.
"Hey there you gonk." she smiled back. "Feeling okay?"
"Yeah." David said, sitting up and flexing his fingers. "Feel great. Like I could take on all of 'Saka and win."
Viktor chuckled, offering a small inhaler to David. "I dunno about that, kid. Here, take a whiff of this now and another one in a half hour."
David took the inhaler, it looked new, expensive.
"What is it?" he asked, taking a quick puff of the mystery drug.
"Trade secret." Viktor said with a grin, "It'll make the recovery process a lot faster."
David pocketed the inhaler, "So what did you find, Doc?"
"Hmm." Viktor grabbed a chair, taking a seat next to Lucy and David. "Guess it's time to talk biz."
He could feel Lucy tense up, ever so slightly.
"What do you mean?" David asked, "This about the meds? I can pay-"
"Don't gotta pay me anything for them." Viktor cut him off, "Consider it on the house. Don't need to pay for the check up, either. But I have some conditions."
David was starting to get nervous now.
"Conditions?"
"First. You quit going to that old ripper of yours. Got it?" Lucy immediately relaxed. "Couple of bypasses and shortcuts in the Sandevistan. Isn't too much of a problem, but more chrome from that 'A-League' ripper of yours and you'll be placing your nervous system under the load of a borg with three times as much chrome."
"Doc never fucked around when it came to chrome." David said, though part of him wasn't sure why he was defending the shady back-alley ripper. "People, sure. But when it came to his job he was a professional."
"And I'm sure he did the best he could." Viktor conceded. "Still, mil-spec cyberware ain't like your normal consumer grade pieces of chrome. It needs a delicate hand."
"Well, he sure didn't have that." David muttered, shivering at the thought of getting ripped apart with no anesthesia.
"When you talk about bypasses-" Lucy began, though Viktor raised a hand placatingly.
"Already taken care of." Viktor said with a smile. "Should also mean you don't need to keep dosing yourself with Immunosuppressants either."
"But I thought-"
"Not with properly installed cyberware." Viktor said bluntly.
David pondered for a moment, if Maine had come here, might he still be alive? Would the crew have stayed together?
He put those thoughts aside, the past was in the past, as much as it hurt.
"And your other conditions?" Lucy prodded.
"Ah, that actually ties in to the results of the check-up" Viktor nodded. "So, David. I did some talking with your girlfriend while you were out. You're trying to figure out how much cyberware you can handle safely, that right?"
David nodded. Had he actually wanted that? He wasn't sure what he was thinking before. Was more chrome really the answer?
"Well I won't lie, kid. Your tolerance for cyberware is one in a million." Viktor said, leaning forward in his chair. "But I know just how easy it is for you young edgerunners to get carried away. So here's what we're gonna do."
David swallowed nervously, now he felt like a child in the dentists office, being scolded for not brushing enough.
"You want a piece of cyberware installed, you come to me. We'll talk it out, see if you really need it, see if there's an alternative for you. Alright? That's my condition."
David pondered for a moment. He thought of Maine, of Dorio. He felt Lucy's hand in his own, the young netrunner asking questions to the ripperdoc in his stead.
"I want Lucy to sign off on them." he said suddenly, Lucy snapped around to face him, eyes wide in shock. "Doctor Vik, I only want you to give me a piece of chrome if Lucy thinks it's necessary."
It would be difficult, Lucy would more than likely be a lot less liberal in allowing him to install any cyberware, but the warm smile that positively radiated off the netrunner made it all worth it.
"Sure thing, kid." Viktor chuckled, "Ah, young love." he murmured mostly to himself.
After a quick bout of questions from Lucy and David, Viktor sent the pair on their way.
Misty's shop had closed for the night, so they took the gate and slipped out onto the main street, still busy but not as crowded with people as it was during the day.
As they got into Maine's car, Lucy turned to face David.
"What?" he asked, feeling self conscious at the intensity of her gaze. "Somethin' on my face?"
He yelped slightly as the woman pulled him in for a kiss, hungry, passionate, warm.
"I love you." Lucy said, gazing deep into his eyes.
This time, David was the one that was transfixed. Her pale eyes were beautiful, as they always were.
The sky outside was cloudy, but David saw the moon in her eyes.
"I love you too." he said with a smile, moving in for another kiss.