David woke up with a start. He ran a hand through his hair, getting his breathing under control.
That same nightmare.
He released a shaky breath, not wanting to disturb the sleeping form of his girlfriend.

Ever since his torture at the hand of the late XBD savant, Jimmy Kurosaki, David had been periodically visited by nightmares of his illusory rampage.
Once upon a time he might have welcomed those dreams. Some sick part of him relished how powerful he felt in that rampage. The feeling of having the solution to any problem hidden under his skin.
That same part of him had missed the sensation of being put under severe cyberware load, even if only in a BD. The feeling of every nerve in his body tingling with power, with potential.

Now, however, David was able to experience these dreams clearly for what they were. He felt his nerves burning as they screamed under the stress of more military cyberware than even he could handle. He felt the bile rising as he cut through swathes of policemen, all with the same terrified scream etched onto their face.
That is what Kurosaki's Edgerunners series had done. It had besmirched the role of a cyberpunk to that of a thug, a monster.
David hummed softly. Promising himself something.
I'll take it back. he swore. I'll take back what it means to be an edgerunner.

He stored that promise deep in his heart, just below the promises he had made to Lucy. He wouldn't lose sight of what he had, not even for this.

David smiled, staring at the ceiling. He felt a little pride in himself, even if it felt a little dumb to admit it.
He had no idea just how close to the edge he was standing, just how close he was to losing himself entirely.

And the person who helped me realize it is...

David looked down, realizing that Lucy had awoken sometime during his contemplation.

"Mornin' Luce" he smiled softly. "When did you wake up?"
"A bit ago." his netrunner mumbled, smiling sleepily. "Was watching you think."

David grinned stupidly. Lucy giggled as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

"Same nightmare?" Lucy asked, looking at him a bit more seriously.

David sighed, he couldn't keep anything from her anymore, and that suited him just fine.
"Yeah." he grimaced, the nightmares plagued him less and less frequently now, especially once he started going to Viktor. Still, even thinking about the thinks he witnessed was... unpleasant.

Lucy ran a hand across his chest, tapping her fingers on his sternum soothingly, rhythmically.
"Tell me about it?" she asked, looking him in the eyes. David caved. He had hoped to spare her the grisly details, had worked to hide the nightmares from her.

After last night, he resolved to change that. Forever with Lucy meant he wouldn't be alone- truly alone- ever again.
"I'm a cyberpsycho." he breathes out, even describing the dreams bring back bad memories. Faded, dull, but present nontheless.
Lucy, for her part, said nothing. Continuing to trail her finger over his skin soothingly.
"I... I'm on the run from the police. Anytime a cop gets the drop on me, I cut him down with a piece of chrome I didn't know I had." he screwed his eyes shut, trying to shut out everything except Lucy.

"And then?" Lucy asked gently, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"And then I get cornered by MaxTac." David breathes. "Every time they blast a piece of me off... metal grows outta me... Guns... chrome... everything."
His grip tightens unintentionally, trying to keep himself centered on this world, not the one he wished desperately would never come true, be it in this life or any other.

"And..." David gasps, panicked tears threatening to surface. "And..."
He felt Lucy shift, her hand removing itself from his skin. He almost sobbed, mourning the loss of her touch.
Then, her lips pressed against his.
David opened his eyes. Lucy pulled back, smiling softly.

"Hey." she whispered, cupping his face with her soft, warm hands. "Hey. We don't have to keep going if it's too much. ok?"

"Thank you." he said, pressing his forehead into her shoulder, breathing in her scent. "I think I'm okay. I can keep going."

Lucy hummed, "Just don't push yourself too hard." she said, running her hands through his hair soothingly.

You don't understand. David wanted to say. I need to tell you this. Need to show you what you saved me from.

"MaxTac... they kill me." he whispers, "In that nightmare. I die as a monster. A monster made of guns and metal."

David felt Lucy pause, just for a moment, then she began moving again, returning her attention to stroking his hair calmingly.

"Sounds terrifying." she whispered.

David sighed, content. He was as far away from those nightmares as he could be in her arms.

"I wasn't always afraid of it." David admitted, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I felt strong... unstoppable."

Lucy tensed up, he could feel the anxiety almost emanating from her.

"But you changed that." he admitted. "Everything you did; stopping me from chroming up, taking me to Vik's... all of it... You saved me... showed me that I don't want that anymore."

David pulled away, just enough so he could see Lucy's face. She beamed, a look of adoration in her eyes.

"So... Thank you, Lucy." he smiled, "Thank you for saving me from myself."

David leaned in, taking Lucy's soft lips with his own. She leaned back, taking him with her.

"Anything for you." she breathed, panting as they broke apart for air.

David lay in their bed. A soft haze clouding his eyes.
It was well past noon now. He watched as Lucy hummed to the radio. Using the computer terminal in their apartment.

She was still in the nude. As was he, admittedly.
It's comfortable. she had said, besides, it's not like we're expecting guests.

David supposed she was right, as his eyes wandered over her figure, he caught her eye.
She smirked at him, stretching out in her chair leisurely.
David swallowed.
Damn...

Suddenly, his attention was stolen by a call, the soft ringtone and large red alert snapping him out of his trance.
"El Cap?" he asked, accepting the call. "Been a while!"

"David," El Capitan, one of the fixers of Santo Domingo nodded curtly. "How have you been?"

"Oh... you know..." David said, eyeing Lucy's small pout at no longer being the center of his attention. "Getting by. Rainy day fund is getting a little dry, you know... maybe you know something that could help...?"

The older man laughed at David's not so subtle prodding.
"Yeah, got a pretty easy gig for you, choom." he said, "Not the biggest payout, not the smallest either."

"Preem," David smiled, "Zip me the deets and I'll get right on it."

Lucy crawled back onto the bed, abandoning whatever she was previously doing on the terminal.

"New job?" she asked, letting David wrap his arms around her.

"Yeah." David said, "Cap decided to throw me a bone."

Lucy laughed.

"You coming with?" David asked, tracing a hand down the tattoos on her back. "Could always use my favorite 'runner with me."

She shivered, eyes darting to the bathroom. Where her deep dive equipment was.

"If you've got biz to take care of, no worries." David said, smiling.

"No, no. I'll go." Lucy said, kissing David softly. "So, we gonna call Valerie? Jackie?"

David hummed, "You, me, Kiwi, Falco, Becca." he decided.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Just the old crew?" she asked.

"V's doing some solo work, trying to do some jobs for some people in Watson. Saving up for a decent cyberdeck." David explained. "Valerie and the Jackster are kickin' around Heywood, doing a few smash and grabs for Padre."

Lucy hummed, smiling softly. "Alright then," she said, getting up off the bed. "Let me make the call."