Chapter 20- Mama Said Knock You Out

Waking up the next day was simultaneously one of the best things that David had ever experienced, and one of the most reluctant things he had ever felt. Why?

Well, on the one hand, he got to wake up to his beautiful input naked and pressed firmly into him. On the other hand, the sheer comfort he felt with his arm wrapped around her soft belly was being overshadowed by the insistent messaging he was getting from Vik.

Vik: " Kid, don't get too wrapped up in your girl. Remember that you've got a test today at Stallion Boxing."

David: "Christ Vik it's only 6am. Our training sessions don't start until 8."

Vik: "Not today punk. Today we start at 7, because if this goes the way I think it will, you'll be getting a little shut-eye anyway."

David: "Well… that's ominous. Oh by the way, any chance I could get Lucy into the office before we do? I want to make sure she gets her new deck implanted before anything else."

Vik: "Yeah no problem kid. I'm glad you're finally getting her to upgrade. She's like you, a good kid. You know by now I'm not the type to advise needless upgrades and implants, but if you've already got something, you should keep it updated and upgrade when necessary. And from what you've told me, that cyberdeck hasn't had an update or an upgrade in a long time."

David: "I'd do anything for her, Vik."

Vik: "I know you would David. Just remember that you can't be there for her, if you don't take care of yourself as well. Make sure that she doesn't have anything to worry about by being healthy and safe."

David: "I will Vik. I'm feeling better than ever. Haven't even twitched lately when I'm around chrome. The lessons have been helping a lot.

Vik: " Just don't go thinking you're cured. Addiction is a powerful thing and it's a lot easier to ignore when everything's going your way. It's when the chips are down, you're feeling low, and you're trying to find a way out that it'll come up stronger than ever. Just try to remember that when it does? You get to make that final choice. It's not weak to be tempted. But it is weak to ignore a helping hand when they're out there for the taking. Alright, I'm gonna hop off my soapbox here before I get going all day and bore you. 7 AM kid."

David: "I'll be there Viktor. And…. thanks."

Ending the call, David was once more left with a conundrum. Should he shake Lucy awake and get them both ready for the day? Or should he attempt to slip out of the bed and begin taking a shower first and let her sleep?

With a grin, David took a more romantic approach. With soft, reverential kisses along her neck, shoulders, and back he slowly woke her up in a far more pleasant manner.

"Nnn… David…"

She murmured quietly as she was slowly brought back from a deep comfortable sleep.

"Nnn… no baby… I'm sorry but I can't go another round… I'm way too sore…"

She said with a little yawn as she curled up closer, pressing against him like she was trying to meld their flesh together.

He just laughed softly as he pressed a kiss to her earlobe, a little bit proud but also concerned at her words.

"No Lucy… it's not that. Vik wants me to come in early for my lessons today. I wanted to try and get you in to change out your deck before we did. Is that ok?"

He knew that pretty much everything to do with her past in Arasaka was an extremely touchy subject, but surprisingly? This time she seemed… very relaxed.

"If that's what you want to do? Ok David. So… is today the big day? Vik is going to take you to try out your first fight?"

She turned over to look at him, her gorgeous eyes and face screwed up in a look of concern.

"Yeah. Vik says that I've picked up on the basics like nobody he's ever seen before, so he wants to see how I'll do."

She didn't look entirely assuaged however.

"These underground fights… they can get really nasty. I mean, you saw what happened with the Butcher. Things like that are pretty much commonplace and… I just don't want you to get hurt."

David brought his hand to her cheek softly, caressing it with all the love and affection he could infuse in that one action. The blush and smile on her face seemed to prove he'd managed it.

"I trust Vik. He promised me from the beginning that I wouldn't be competing in any of those fight pits. Only clean ones, no dirty tricks allowed. Just amateur cage fighting."

She swallowed hard as she pressed her face more firmly into his hand.

"... Ok. I trust Viktor as well. It's just...you mean… so much to me. And it's scary to think of you in a position you could get hu-"

She froze for a moment, her eyes completely unfocused and her breathing became ragged.

"Lucy? Lucy?!"

He said softly at first but then with more urgency and concern. He'd never seen her do this before, whether it was the first time around, or this one.

She began to tremble uncontrollably and her hands reached out to cling to him, desperately, as if touching him was the cure to whatever had begun to ail her.

And perhaps it was, for as soon as she'd managed to put her hands on him, her breathing had begun to even out and her eyes had started to regain focus.

She shook her head softly, as if to clear her head as he looked at her with wide-eyed concern.

"Lucy, are you ok?"

She smiled up at him shakily as he asked.

" Yeah… yeah, I'm ok. Guess I just freaked out for a moment. But… yes. I trust Vik. Just BE CAREFUL, for me?"

Her face screwed up in a look of bemused amusement.

"And for Rebecca now as well."

Her words successfully derailed his train of thought by causing him to blush. Christ, that was right wasn't it? Lucy had asked him if he would be open to the concept of dating Rebecca, and he had said yes. To be perfectly honest, he had thought that perhaps he had dreamt the conversation up, his desires and fantasies giving him a dream scenario where he could just be given what he desired deep down without anyone getting hurt.

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess that's true. Luce… are you sure about this? I… I'm not going to lie, I really do want this and I'm not going to pretend that I don't. But that doesn't mean that being purely with you wouldnt make me the happiest man in the world as well."

Lucy hummed and nestled into the crook of his neck, kissing softly at the hollow of his throat as she seemed to consider how best to explain how she felt about the situation.

"If you'd asked me about this weeks ago? I would have been really hurt to even think about it. Honestly, I don't think there's any way you could have brought it up that wouldn't have made me upset. I think the only way I could have even considered this is Rebecca having spoken to me like she did."

David didn't speak, only moving one of his hands to caress the full curve of her hip in a manner that was both gentle and reassuring but also mildly possessive, punctuated with occasional squeezes that made her blush but burrow in closer.

"I'm… I'm not a jealous person David. I know you love me, and honestly it's never you that I was worried about. Because I saw how Becca looked at you. And I wasn't mad that she liked you. How could I be mad when you're… you?"

David blinked curiously. That was a strange thing to say. He didn't really understand what precisely she meant by that.

"What do you mean?"

She looked at him incredibly fondly as she pressed a soft kiss to his throat.

"David… at the core of your being, you are an exceptionally loveable gonk. It's not hard to fall for you. It's why I was so scared for a while, you just… You're so GOOD, and I felt like I was…"

She groaned and closed her eyes against his chest.

"God, I don't even know what I'm trying to say. My point is that talking with Rebecca made me realize that so many of my fears, my anxieties…. they're built on the foundation of… I just don't think I'm a very good person. So your wholehearted, selfless nature just made me feel like… like one day I might just…"

"Lose you?"

She blinked, and looked up from his chest a little bit shocked.

"...Yeah. How did you know?"

He chuckled mirthlessly.

"Because I wake up every morning, thinking that today will be the day I finally wake up and realize everything was a dream. Or that you'll realize that some fucking gonk kid from Santo isn't good enough for you. And I wouldn't blame you for realizing that. But it still tears at me."

Because I don't think I'm a good person either.

Lucy seemed like she wanted to fight those words rather loudly, but took another track instead.

"And that's why Becca helped me realize that a lot of my fears.. they can be at least mitigated… by having the courage to talk to you about them. To not pretend that everything's okay just because I'm scared."

It made sense, really. And once more, he was indebted to his best choom. Though now she wasn't just his choom anymore was she? Then again, maybe she'd realize that the reality didn't match up to the fantasy that she'd built up in his head.

After all, the fact that he'd managed to pull Lucy already left him utterly astonished. The fact that somehow his gonk ass managed to not only attract someone as amazing and smoking hot as Becca?

That beggared belief.

"What I still don't get is why you're okay with the idea of me and Rebecca being together. Does it really not bother you?"

She gave him a little smirk.

"It depends… are you going to be bothered if you see me getting cozy with her as well?"

His brain crashed.

(Concern!! Host? David?!)

….

y-yeah. I'm… i'm ok. just…. WOW.

(Relief...Annoyance! Worried! GONK!!!)

Yeah. no arguments there.

"I… never knew you liked girls Lucy."

She blushed a little.

"...Yeah. I do. A lot actually. Usually I actually prefer women. I wasn't… I was taken aback by just how much I was attracted to you. Because let me be...abundantly clear."

She murmured softly as she wrapped her arm around his lower back and grinded her deliciously plush frame against him.

"I am… so goddamn attracted to you. But before I met you, I had mostly a couple of casual hookups that I never saw again. The majority were women as the men tended to think that because they had a Mister Studd they were suddenly sex gods."

He wasn't surprised at her having had sex with other people before. Like she'd said, they were just casual hookups. Nothing important.

But her words about preferring women did tickle at his brain, as a memory from a few months back started to make a lot more sense.

"Wait a minute… so… when you were asking me what I liked about Dorio's body…"

She grinned cheekily.

"I was looking to compare notes. Because I mean… come on. Look at those abs. Tell me you wouldn't love taking a lick or nibbling on those."

He chuckled ruefully, a lot of things starting to make sense now.

"I would, but Mama didn't raise a liar. So… this thing with Rebecca. It wouldn't just be me dating the both of you? It would be you two dating as well?"

She shrugged.

"Maybe? I don't know. But I can't deny Becca is hot, and with how good of a friend she is…"

It was his time to smirk at her.

"She sneaks up on you doesn't she?"

"As best she can any way….that ass…" Lucy joked as she began to kiss his chest and move lower down south.

~~~

His cock throbbed as despite the sheer amount of sex they had had last night he was more than raring to go.

"Um… babe… if you don't want another round, could you ease up a bit?"

She looked up at him with a naughty playful look in her eyes.

"Mm…. No. I might not be able to take this monster again…"

She said playfully as she pressed a kiss to his lower belly, and to the side of his fully erect and throbbing shaft.

"But I think I can make you see stars just one more time."

She punctuated that by taking the head of his cock fully in her mouth, swirling her tongue around the spongy sensitive head, before giving it a good solid suck.

David groaned as he could feel his balls clench, already sure that he would have a massive load for her. But to make things a little more… easy on the cleanup, he stroked her hair and spoke.

"Maybe… we should move to the shower first? That way it won't leave you more of a massive mess to clean up."

She pouted at having been stopped at her task, but accepted the reasoning, withdrawing from his shaft with a clear pop sound.

"Ok David~ lead the way."

She said with a grin, getting to her feet. David followed her soon after, pulling her into the shower within only a moment, the water quickly flowing and covering them in the steam and hot water.

David took the lead once more, placing his hand on her head and pressing down to get her on her knees.

She shook it off however, waving her finger playfully.

"Not this time baby… you just sit back… and do what I tell you."

She growled like a tigress, raw and passionate as she squatted down lewdly, slobbering up and down his shaft. With the shower going, there was no reason to be restrained at all, licking and sucking and humming the first couple of inches.

All of this was fucking electric to David, the sheer lewd pleasure being almost overwhelming, especially since he could feel the sheer love and affection with which she pleasured him.

"Mmm… fuck…never thought I'd love doing this so much."

She murmured softly, rubbing her whole face up against his shaft, licking and kissing the pulsing rod of meat.

"Don't touch my head…. Keep your hands at your sides… ok?"

She requested of him. It was obvious in her eyes that if he didn't want to, she would accept It. But for this moment… She wanted to take care of him.

"Ok babe…. You do what you like."

He said, carefully using his hands to brace against the wall.

She smiled, and opened her mouth…. Really goddamn wide. Holy hell, he had forgotten she could do that.

She lined up his cock with her mouth, and with a slow sensuous motion, she bobbed her head deep, taking his length deep inside her throat, her plump lips gently caressing his shaft as she moved up slowly.

And like that, she slowly, and almost tortuously pleasured her man with a careful but determined fervor. The speed and intensity building over time causing deliciously lewd sounds to emit from her throat.

Glllk Gllllk GLLLK

Lucy:"Ah….. ah…. Mmmm… David?"

She finally said softly, not having pulled off his cock at all, having sent a call to speak to him.

"Fuck… yes baby?"

He said, his hands hungry to grip her head, but not moving as he'd promised.

Lucy: "fuck my mouth... Fuck my throat. Just fuck my face until you cum, spilling all that thick delicious cum into my belly. "

"As my Lady asks…"

He teased playfully, before gripping her head, the touch of his fingers on her scalp making her groan as his hips began hammering hard against her, his cock bulging her throat, causing more of those delicious noises.

Ullkullkull glllk Gllllk GLLLK!

Her eyes were rolling back, but her calls kept demanding the same thing.

Lucy: "cum for me baby. Feed me your cum, give it to me, GIVE IT TO ME, DAMN YOU!"

It was that desperate, almost feral fervor that pushed him over the edge, her throat tight around him as his balls pulsed, filling her stomach to the brim with his thick sticky baby batter.

She whined softly as her throat kept convulsing, audibly swallowing down more of his sperm.

Eventually however, even his massive loads eased off, and she carefully pulled off his cock, pressing a kiss to the tip, giggling in lust as one last little shot of his cum covered her face and a bit of her hair.

~~~

He shuddered as the shockwaves of pleasure ran down his spine, the hot water of her shower slowly starting to lose its heat. His hands were still tangled in her hair, his fingertips caressing her scalp as she looked up at him, a look of supreme contentment, licking at her lips and nuzzled against his shaft.

"Mmm…. That was fun… good thing you brought up the shower. This is really, really messy."

He blushed and moved one of his hands away from the back of her head to his own as he moved his other hand to caress her cheek, some of his sperm coating his thumb.

She took said thumb in her mouth, sucking languidly.

"Uh… yeah. Sorry."

She chuckled and kissed both his shaft and the palm of his hand.

"Nothing to apologize for David… I told you to do it. And… was that ok?"

He laughed.

"Lucy, you demanded I fuck your face until I came. I'm feeling fantastic."

She blushed as she stood up, standing taller than him as always, wrapping her arms around his neck, his chin caressing her cleavage and his face at her neck.

"... I still really liked you taking charge last night, but… sometimes I kinda like the idea of… telling you to be rough. Is that ok?"

He grinned.

"Yeah… it's ok. So.. you wanna finish up this shower? I'd like to get us some breakfast before we hit Vik's."

She smirked and turned around in his arms, and laid her head back a little so her neck was bare for him to kiss.

"Oh… I don't need breakfast...I'm a bit… full."

He shuddered against and gripped her hips with such a strong grip, he was surprised she didn't react except for a pleased whimper.

"If you start that up again, we're not gonna leave the apartment for the entire day, and Vik's gonna beat my ass."

She pouted and sighed as she turned back around, her face still partly slathered in his sperm and it having got into her hair as well.

"Alright….then… will you help me? Not that I don't love being covered by you, but I figure it would probably be a bad idea to walk out covered in the stuff."

She said with a wink before stepping under the water properly, letting the slowly cooling water wash his cum away, as he reached for the shampoo.

This wasn't an uncommon thing for them to do the last time around. Well. once they'd moved in together at least. Beforehand, they'd still maintained separate locations for sleeping. Honestly, he didn't even know why they'd been doing it this time around. they'd been together for a few months and already they spent more time often than not at either his apartment, or at hers.

It probably wouldn't be a terrible idea for him to start perusing apartment data to see if he could find a place that would be big enough for the both of them, as well as big enough to comfortably fit Rebecca if that situation actually ended up turning out.

"Mm… David?"

Lucy asked quietly, as she enjoyed his thorough massaging of her scalp and shampooing of her hair.

"Yeah babe?"

"Do you think I'd look good with long hair?"

He snorted.

"Lucy, you'd look good bald. Your hair is gorgeous now, and you'd absolutely look gorgeous with longer hair."

She blushed, noticeable even in the slowly cooling water, her smile wide.

"I've been thinking about doing longer hair for a while but… I don't know. It's always been something that seemed like an unneeded luxury. And taking care of longer hair WOULD take a lot longer than this… are you sure you'd want to do that?"

His heart felt warm as she asked him the question, the unspoken certainty that he would be there to take care of her hair regularly.

"Of course Lucy. I'd do anything for you."

Except die. This time… this time I'll live for you.

She turned around then, the water of the shower unable to hide that her eyes had started to mist up.

"... and I would do anything for you David. You know that right?"

He pulled her close again, his head snugly in the crook of her neck.

" I do."

He said softly, pressing a gentle kiss to it.

She sniffed softly as she squeezed him firmly, before pulling back and getting him to turn around, pulling out some shampoo for him as well, working the lather into his hair. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed her taking care of him as he took care of her.

"....so… the Sandevistan hasn't been giving you any trouble?"

She asked him quietly, seemingly stilted in her words. He figured it might be part of her trying to ask the questions that she was scared to hear the answers of.

"No. Vik has been keeping a close eye on it, and so far he says that it's adapting to me extremely well. It might just be… ridiculously powerful. I promise though, I'm still being careful. I'm going to Vik every week, and I haven't been chipping in at all. I'm still mostly 'ganic."

She didn't say anything for a while, just letting the soap set for a bit as she gently stroked his spine where the Sandevistan was implanted. He shuddered as she touched the chrome, feeling… feeling?

How was he feeling metal? The Sandevistan didn't have touch capability.

Sandy?

(... Adjusting. Fortifying. Assimilation.)

Oh. Oh…

You're changing my body?

(Minor! Maintain form. …protect David.)

What are yo-

(Arasaka. Smasher. Sandy sees David.)

He swallowed hard as he leaned unconsciously into Lucy's touch, taking comfort in her caress.

…So you know? That I… that I somehow came back?

(Affirmative.)

How long?

(First Vocal Communication)

"You alright David?"

Lucy said softly, washing his body of the lather and hugging him from behind.

"... Yeah. Yeah I'm ok."

Why didn't you ever say anything about it?

(Unimportant. David… important. Protect.)

… You promise this isn't going to turn me into some fucked up Borg or weird genetic monster?

(Insulted, but understand. Careful.)

...ok. But anything big, you tell me. And I want to know what you've done already.

Lucy squeezed him softly and placed kisses along his spine.

"...are you doing ok? With… with your mom gone I mean."

... tell me later.

(Understood.)

He didn't say anything for a while, though his body remained mostly relaxed as he turned off the cooling water, and stepped out, grabbing towels for them both.

She obediently moved to follow him and raised her arms as he dried her off, letting her do the same to him soon after.

"It's… hard to say really. I miss her."

He said eventually, his voice as steady as he could keep it.

She was silent as they pulled on their clothes, and he continued to speak, just occasionally laying her hand along his arm or caressing his cheek.

What she'd asked him was… well it was a hard thing to answer. For him, it was over a year since she'd died so part of him wanted to say that he'd recovered for the most part.

But he knew that was a bunch of bullshit. In truth, the first time around? He'd never recovered from the loss of his mother. And now? With the loss both almost a year ago now, as well as only two months?

…

"I miss her so much, Lucy. My mom and I… it was always just me and her. She tried to keep me away from the realities of things, but I learned to heat up food and even cook a little when I was really young. Mom would come home after working some shitty 3rd shift position while she saved up the Eddies for an EMT certificate. She'd be so tired… Have you ever been so tired that even though your stomach is roaring, your legs and feet hurt too much to even begin to push yourself up to eat?"

Lucy looked slightly uncomfortable, but she nodded.

"Not… exactly but… something similar."

As she pulled on her little jacket, and he pulled on his mom's EMT coat, he sighed, taking her hand as they made their way out of her apartment.

"The first time I can remember heating up a burrito, I was 5 years old. It became...a thing for us. It was just us for so long. Taking care of one another, and… I still wake up sometimes thinking she's gonna shake me awake and tell me I need to get going to the Academy. But then I look over at the counter and…."

His mom's urn would be sitting there. Still the hard cold featureless metal of before but he had plans to have it festooned with special symbols along the outside. A sugar skull, a caduceus, and some splashes of color. It would make him feel a little better to no longer look at the emotionless steel of the urn he was given when his mom was cremated but… no matter how pretty.. his mom was still gone.

He didn't feel like he was good enough to scramble in an attempt to give her a nice urn but.. well. Maine said that he used to be into art. Maybe he'd be into the idea of doing it?

Or would it be too painful for the big man?

He'd have to think on it.

They walked for a little while through the streets of Japantown, before Lucy spoke up again.

"...Is that why you take jobs so often whenever you're not spending time with me or the others?"

… Fuck. She always was perceptive as hell.

He'd done exactly that the first time around. Buried himself in training, in chroming up, in doing job after job no matter if he was ready for it or not, relying on his Sandevistan to make up for any of his many flaws.

"Mmm. Maybe at first. But… talking to Vik, getting my head on straight when it came to chrome… It helped me think through some stuff as well. At first I was planning on burying myself in work. In Edgerunning. But… I guess I realized that if I just stuck my head in the sand, and just ran myself ragged… that could get me hurt. That could get other people hurt. Mama would never forgive me if I didn't try to take better care of myself, ya know?"

As they hopped an NCART, he moved their conversation to a Holo call.

David: "You told me the night of the Maxim job that you don't make a name as a cyberpunk by how you live, but by how you die. And maybe… maybe for a moment I thought that sounded Nova. Go out in a blaze of glory, protect my chooms, leave the ones I love with good memories and a hell of a lot of eddies.

She didn't say anything, just tightened her grasp on his hand, almost enough to bruise. He didn't resist or wince or anything. If nothing else, he almost accepted the pain as it was… a penance almost.

David: "But just as quickly, I realized that I was being a fucking gonk. If mom had left me behind a bunch of eddies, I wouldn't have been any happier, or feel any less empty than I do now. So why did I want to do that to the people I love? I wouldn't do that to you. Or Becca. Or any of the crew."

Never again.

Lucy leaned her head against his shoulder for a short moment, nuzzling against him, uncaring that they were in public.

Lucy: "... You promised me I wouldn't have to see you die. I'm still holding you to that."

David: "I know. And I mean it. You won't. Nothing is worth leaving you alone. Anything that comes our way… we'll face it. One way or the other."

She hummed softly at those words, squeezing him lightly.

Lucy: "Good. So… when is your birthday? How long am I a criminal?"

She asked him in a teasing manner. Neither of them cared much about his age, but it was a good chance to talk about it.

David: "I'm surprised you don't already know that. Didn't 77chat have my 'Saka Academy profile?"

Lucy: "Yeah but… I didn't want to find out about it through data retrieval.. ya know? Wanted to find out from you."

He smiled affectionately down at his output, kissing the top of her head gently.

David: "well… It's October 31st."

She hummed softly.

Lucy: "So I've got plenty of time before your birthday. Good to know."

He laughed at that, wrapping his arm tighter around her, giving her a little squeeze.

David: "and yours?"

He knew that it was coming up soon. It was March afterall, and her birthday was on May 1st. He still remembered her birthday last time around. She hadn't wanted to do anything for it, and he'd never understood why.

But…. Maybe this time she'd feel like celebrating.

She frowned against him, squeezing her hands tightly for a moment before responding.

Lucy: "it's…. May 1st…. But I don't…. I mean. I don't really need to do anything for it."

He held back from frowning but his disappointment was still apparent.

David: "ok. But… are you sure?"

Lucy: "....I…. Have some things mixed up with my birthday. I'll explain them to you soon just…. Not now. Is that ok?"

That if nothing else made his heart feel a hell of a lot warmer. He smiled softly, kissing the top of her pastel hair.

David: "No problem."

They talked for a little while about nothing in particular until they felt the NCART beginning to slow as they arrived at the Watson station.

Walking the streets, they marveled at how quiet everything felt as the majority of people were at work, and mused upon how occasionally, Night City could be gorgeous.

As they entered Misty's, once more the big Latino bull was there, sweet talking his punk girlfriend.

"Ayy chica. Why don't you let me take you to lunch later? It's been too long since you and I had a date, eh Mi amor…"

Misty sighed happily as they saw her reach over and squeeze his hand.

"I'd love that Jackie… as long as you don't go breaking the bank again. I did a reading earlier, and got the Two of Pentacles. Just… try and be careful, mm?"

The big man just gave her a grin, and kissed her forehead lovingly.

"No hay problema, Misty. As long as I've got you, no gonk decisions on my end."

It was then that they noticed the entrance of Lucy and David, Misty greeting them cheerfully while Jackie seemed to be sizing David up.

"Lucy! David. It's good to see you two. And…"

She looked them over for a moment, before her face practically split apart in a wide smile.

"Oh my. You two are practically bursting with positive energy today.

To his right, Lucy blushed a bright red, while David looked a little sheepish himself.

"Mm? Whatcha… oh… hoho! Not bad hermano!

The well built man just gave him a big shit eating grin, equal parts teasing and congratulatory.

"Guess that gift you were talking about last night was well received mmm?"

David glared at the big man, though his blush was intense still.

"None of your damn business!"

Turning to face Misty he attempted to recover some amount of his dignity.

"Nice to see you Misty. Not gonna be here long. Just long enough to get Lucy's new deck installed and then we'll be going to the gym."

Misty just smiled at him indulgently.

"Oh, I know. I'll be there this time actually."

….why did that sound rather ominous?

Lucy meanwhile had collected herself and was staring Jackie down with the cold dispassionate gaze that she pulled off so well. Jackie took it in good humor however.

"Not bad chica. But a choom of mine pulls it off better."

Misty smacked his chest playfully.

"Jackie…"

"What?? It's true! V's got a deadpan glare that can freeze your soul if she gets pissed."

Before David could let his curiosity about the mysterious V translate into questions, Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Can we go in David?" She asked pointedly, and David remembered why they were there to begin with.

He smiled.

"Yeah. Sorry guys, we gotta get moving."

Jackie just waved them off as he wrapped his arms around Misty from behind, making the punk woman melt into his arms.

"Ah, go on. I'm sure we'll see each other real soon."

What is it with people and saying ominous shit today?

Making their way into the back alley that led into Misty's basement, David once more took the opportunity to pet the cat that was sitting there nice and relaxed.

"Oh wow… I didn't realize that there were any cats left in Night City."

Lucy said in mild awe as she crouched down next to him.

"Me either."

He said with a little laugh, the cat butting its head up against his hand and wrist, rubbing its side against him.

"... Do you think he'd let me pet him?"

She whispered with just a hint of childlike longing.

"Maybe. Why don't you hold your hand out? Let him smell you?"

She hesitated at first, before tentatively holding her hand out, palm facing the floor. The cat didn't even react for a moment, still caught up in running against David's hand, before sniffing at Lucy. Lucy's eyes were wide and soft as the cat sniffed a little more before licking softly at the back of her hand, purring gently as he began rubbing his head against her hand.

"See? I think he likes you."

David said affectionately, captivated by the innocent joy of petting an animal that was prevalent across her face.

She smiled that small little smile she had for when she was lost in a moment, scratching behind the cat's ears, making it purr louder and press into her hand.

Eventually however, the cat had enough of the attention and went to munch on some of the food that was in it's bowl, leaving David and Lucy squatting down next to each other, his arm around her squeezing her side.

"..... I never had a pet growing up. I always kind of wanted one. Someone to whisper my secrets to, someone to hold when things seemed dark."

She said softly as they stood up, making their way down the stairs, finally starting to show the tension and nerves he had expected earlier.

He took her hand and squeezed it supportively.

"I never had one either. Night City exterminated the majority of animal life a long time ago, and Forever Friends cost an arm and a goddamn leg. Mom could barely keep us going, much less pay for some overpriced simulacrum of a pet."

She nodded distractedly as they opened the door to Viktor's clinic, before coming to a halt, squeezing his hand harder than he thought she was aware of.

"Hey… hey. It's ok love. If you don't want to do it, we don't have to get it implanted today. Or any day if you don't want to. I just thought that this might help keep you safe when we're working."

He said quietly, pulling her into a huge, one hand on the small of her back, the other at the base of her skull, over the RealSkin that covered her Deep Dive port.

She swallowed, nerves and fear showing themselves as she leaned further against him, her breathing only slowly as he held her close.

"I…. I'm gonna do it. It's a good idea, and a wonderful gift. Just… hold my hand? While he implants it and I'm out. Don't let him go poking anywhere else. Just the cyberdeck."

She pressed the back of her skull firmly against his hand as she spoke, seemingly relaxing more as she sighed.

"I will. And I won't let him mess with anything else. But it's Vik love. He's not like Doc."

She grimaced at the mention of the skeevy ripper.

"I know…I just… trust you more. Ok?"

"I know."

And he did. Lucy and his relationship was… intense. But then, when you get people as hurt and traumatized as the two of them, and connect them with real unadulterated love they become… rather protective.

She sighed, and stepped back, before bending over slightly, pressing a kiss to his forehead affectionately.

"... You take such good care of me. Thank you."

She said quietly, before facing the last bit of stairs that separated them from Vik's clinic and taking those last steps, opening the gate as Vik was watching a new match. This one was newer with different people there.

"Hey Vik, I brought Lucy! You ready to implant the tech?"

David asked him as Vik turned in his chair, grinning with a rarely seen energy.

"I am. Once that's taken care of, we can get Stallion Bo-"

The older ripper cut off briefly as he looked over the two of them. And with a sinking feeling in David's stomach, he realized that Vik had noticed the same thing Misty and Jackie had.

"Heh. Not bad kid."

"Oh come on! Do I just have it written on my forehead??"

He groused as Lucy looked away, her cheeks red as she gripped her arms in embarrassment.

Vik shrugged as he pulled on his ripper glove, carefully stretching and testing each piece, with a critical eye.

"Sorta? Regardless, I'm just fucking with ya kids. So, you have the deck? Need to put it through a sterilization process before we implant it in your output's skull."

Lucy looked over at Vik with a nervous gaze, tightening her grip on her arms.

David quietly wrapped his arm around her waist, and tilted his head up to whisper to her.

"You don't have to do this Lucy. I promise you, we can just go to the gym, and I'll just hold onto the deck for another day."

He wasn't going to force her, because God knew he understood what was bothering her. The Deep Dive port was one of the biggest remaining pieces of her trauma, having been used by Arasaka to recover pre-Datakrash files and code. It still blew his mind just how much she leaned into allowing him to touch back there. It shocked him, and utterly humbled him in fact.

But his girl was stubborn, and with a set of her jaw, she shook her head, narrowing her gaze at the chair.

"No… no I want to enjoy your gift. It's been too long since I had an upgrade but…"

She looked at Vik with a glare.

"You still maintain Doctor-Patient confidentiality?"

Vik didn't even twitch.

"My lips are sealed. I don't care what kind of tech you have chipped in Lucy, I just want to make sure it's being properly maintained."

She kept up the glare for a moment before her eyes softened and she reached for David's hand, desperate for the comfort it brought. It was almost immediate how quickly she seemed to lose that anxious edge.

".... Can you destroy the deck you remove? Just completely get rid of it? I don't want to have to see it when I come back to."

It was obvious the Ripper was a little curious, but he nodded.

"I'll crush it into powder and melt it down to scrap." He promised her with a smile.

She took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Alright…."

Meanwhile, Vik had started setting up his table, laying it out flat, and maneuvering part of the comfortable chair out so there was an odd gap that didn't look comfortable.

Lucy didn't seem surprised, but David legitimately didn't know what was going on.

"... Um… what's that for?"

Vik raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching as Lucy blushed a little more.

"It's so that women who are particularly… gifted in the chest can be more comfortable when they get chrome or body sculpting while laying prone."

"…. Oh." His face reddened slightly. That made a lot of sense, but wasn't something that had ever occurred to him.

Vik meanwhile was still maintaining the comforting air of professionalism as he gestured for Lucy to take her place on the chair/table as he held his hand out for the cyberdeck.

David handed it over as Lucy clambered onto the chair, wincing lightly as she positioned herself so that the gap could do its work. He was going to ask about the wince but… he had the feeling it was muscle soreness, not anything bad, and they'd been embarrassed enough this morning.

Vik placed the cyberdeck carefully in a small sterilization device as David moved to take a seat on a stool on Lucy's left side, taking her hand, the grip strength surprising him with its intensity.

"You're not going anywhere, right?"

She murmured quietly.

He lowered his mouth down to her soft hands, kissing her knuckles.

"Not a chance, Luce. I'm right here."

She didn't say anything, only closing her eyes.

"Alright… I'm gonna go ahead and put you out. Replacing a deck isn't a complicated procedure as long as nothings been impacted. Just a bit of a wait. You should be up in about 20-30 minutes. Are you good with that Lucy?"

Came the steady slightly gravelly tone of Vik, coming with an injector of an anesthetic.

She just nodded silently, and seemed to be taking deliberately deep breaths to maintain a facsimile of calm. As Viktor injected her neck carefully with the knock out, every part of her relaxed as she slowly lost consciousness.

Well. Every part of her except for the hand gripping his own. Seeing that, Viktor raised an eyebrow in surprise and a little bit of awe.

"Damn kid. I've seen a lot of things in this city but that? Never seen that before. Alright, let's take a look here…."

As Vik began his careful work in pulling back RealSkin from part of the side of her head, he spoke to David.

"So, how have you been doing, kid? Keeping that Sandy at 10%?"

David grimaced.

"Um…. Not… quite?"

Vik didn't even look up at him, his attention fully on Lucy, and David could tell that he was NOT pleased.

".... How hard did you push it?"

He considered the question. If he remembered correctly, he'd only done it twice.

"Well, one job I briefly pushed it to 1 percent to look around cuz I need to make sure that I had all my targets accounted for. Used 10 percent entirely for the rest of the job but only when Pilar told me to."

Viktor nodded, as he began the technical process of releasing the cyberdeck from its confines.

"And what about the second time?"

He shrinked in anticipation of Vik's ire.

".... Um… .1%? Only for like… a second real time. Less than really."

Vik paused for a moment, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

".... Do you know why that was foolish?"

In a way, Vik's quiet disappointment was even harder to bear than if he'd gotten pissed and yelled.

(Sandy… sorry.)

Not just your fault Sandy. I agreed. We both pushed too far without checking in.

"... Because I didn't tell you, and Sandy is experimental as hell."

"And being experimental means that I'm operating blind here kid. Operating blind means that I don't know what to do if there's complications because you pushed too far with it!"

The older man's only mildly raised voice still struck like a hammer to David's conscience.

"I'm… I'm sorry Vik. I was talking with Sandy and it said that I should be able to do short bursts of .1%. I should have called you."

Vik paused for just a second, before turning to the Biotech Mk 2 deck in the sanitizer.

"...You can talk with it?"

"Well, yeah? You made a joke about it a while ago at the gym."

After being sure that the deck was properly sanitized Vik turned back to Lucy's open OS slot.

"Yeah, but it was a joke. The AI in the tech shouldn't have been capable of growing this quickly. Would you say that it's mechanical, or…"

David frowned, even as Sandy seemed to become more upset.

(Vik doesn't Like?)

Well… you've seen my memories right?

(And Accessed Net.)

David blinked at that.

You've accessed the net???

(David sleeps. Bored. Careful.)

Ok… so you know the problem we've had with AI before. Most any fully sapient and Sentient AI like you has turned out to be… very hostile or dangerous. It's why I was scared at first when Vik told me that you existed. I thought you might end up puppeting me and hurting people I love.

(...hurt. David ..Important. David Friends Also. Sandy Protect. Not harm.)

I know that. But you and I have been basically inseparable for...over a month now. We've talked. Joked. Vik hasn't seen any of that."

(...Reluctant Understanding.)

Vik frowned at him as his focus recalibrated onto the older ripper.

"... Were you just talking to it?"

"Yeah. I know you're worried Vik, but I promise. Sandy's only ever tried to help me. I mean, hell. It even gets on me about eating! It's like a concerned friend."

Vik sighed and crossed his arms briefly as he pulled back from Lucy's deck slot.

".... Look. Sandy…. Maybe it is your choom David. But no matter how smart it is, that doesn't make it infallible. Ok? Just be smart. Take things slow, especially when you want to take them fast."

David nodded.

"Would it…. Make you feel any easier if I came back later in the week And let you check on the systems again? Maybe you could even chat with Sandy?"

Vik snorted as he finally released the catch for Lucy's cyberdeck.

"Huh… never thought I'd speak to an experimental piece of chrome with its own AI… but sure. Come by next week and we'll talk. No other issues?

"None choom. I'm feeling better than I ever have."

David raised the arm that wasn't held by Lucy and flexed with a grin, showing off the gains in muscle mass he'd had. Nothing crazy, but he definitely had a lot more definition and a bit of size too.

Vik nodded.

"Ok… Well, let's focus on your girl here. Let's remove that deck and…"

As he removed it, his eyes widened..

"Whoa… this is almost a decade old. No serial… no model… only...Arasaka. Shit kid…"

The old ripper shook his head.

"No wonder she's cagey. Alright… let's get rid of this shit."

He said, moving from beside her table to an industrial strength crusher, before doing exactly as he'd said, and throwing it into the materials disposal, the remains of the cyberdeck becoming so much slag.

Returning to Lucy's deck slot, Vik checked it carefully before beginning to slot the new deck in.

"So… Do you know anything about that kid?"

Viktor asked him as he began securing the new deck properly, his tone curious as well as gentle.

"She hasn't said anything about it."

This time.

"So I'll just wait until she feels like saying something about it. I'm not gonna pry."

Vik just hummed and continued to work. Meanwhile, David was softly stroking her hand with his thumb, bending down to kiss the back of her hand occasionally.

"Well, I gotta say. You made the right decision getting her this new deck. No lie, the old one had all the hallmarks of being a top tier deck… but an older one. At least 10-20 years out of date. She should see a VAST increase in her Quickhack potential, as well as just moving more fluidly and strongly through the more expansive dives."

David nodded, glad that Vik supported him on the tech he'd sourced for his girl.

One of them at least.

Shit… that was right. How…. How was he gonna handle this?

Maine had been alright with his romantic advice last time around but… he didn't want to deal with the ribbing he was sure to get from the man. Not now at least. Pilar was not a damn option. Falco… ok maybe Falco. But he and Falco hadn't bonded much this time around, much like the last. He hadn't even met Falco until Lizzie's last time with Pilar.

So...who did that leave?

Vik?

….. maybe. He trusted Vik.

But would Vik even be able to help?

"Hey, Vik?"

He said hesitantly as Viktor finished the installation, now working on putting everything back.

"Yeah, kid?"

".... Hypothetically… your output tells you, and encourages you to date your best choom… how the hell do you go about that?"

Viktor, having finished and looking back up at him, blinked in confusion.

".... What?"

David flushed. Ugh. Why did he go the hypothetical route? Now he sounded like a moron.

"Kid, you'd best not be telling me that you're trying to figure out a way to get Lucy to be ok with you getting some side action."

Viktor warned him with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"No! Nonono God no. I… ok look."

And for the next couple of minutes, he explained the situation between him, Lucy, and Rebecca. How he felt a connection with Becca, but didn't want to hurt Lucy because he loved her so much. But it felt like he was hurting Bex as well.

And then the reveal.

"...you're telling me that Lucy's telling you that it's ok to date Rebecca."

Vik said flatly.

David nodded, looking overwhelmed and uncertain.

".... Alright, look kid, I'm gonna be frank. I don't think I can help. I don't know shit about long lasting romantic relationships, much less ones where there are multiple people involved."

David sighed. Yeah, he'd been worried about that.

"Shit, kid I've never even really seen a proper multi person relationship. I know they exist, but I was never…"

Vik frowned before shaking his head.

"I can't help you. But… Misty might be able to."

David blinked.

"Why would Misty be able to help me with this?"

Vik shrugged.

"Misty's got a lot of knowledge about alternative lifestyles, if the shop didn't tell you that."

He said as he removed the glove, stretching his wrists and forearms out to keep them from tightening up.

"I don't know if she knows about polygamous shit, but that's your best bet. Otherwise… The only thing I can suggest is… just be honest and considerate. Other than that I got nothing, kid. I'm sorry. I wish I could help more."

David laughed in disbelief.

"Vik, you've done nothing but help me and look out for me since I got here. You've been teaching me boxing, keeping me on the straight and narrow with chrome, and you always TRY to help even if you don't have the answers. You're… you're a very good man Viktor."

Viktor rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah jeez… don't get all sappy on me kid. Bad for the rep."

But the smile on the older man's face belied his words.

The conversation was broken up when Lucy finally began to mumble and groan.

"Easy there girl…"

Vik said gently, helping her turn around and sit up as the table was turned back into a chair, allowing her to be upright.

David meanwhile continued to hold her hand as her eyes slowly gained focus, looking only at him.

"You're here…"

She said softly, in awe.

"Always Lucy. I'm not going anywhere."

Vik stayed quiet as the young couple relished in a soft moment with each other, before Lucy looked around, stress starting to manifest itself.

"So… the-"

Vik cut her off, answering the question before she could even ask it.

"Crushed, and melted into slag. Your boy watched me do it. I'm not gonna ask you any questions. Like I told you, I don't care what chrome you have or where you got it. I just want to make sure it's well maintained."

She hesitated, but slowly the anxiety slowly flowed out of her body.

"Thank…. Thank you."

Viktor waved her off, gesturing over at his tv.

"Well, let's see it. Let's see you turn that of-"

Before he could even finish his suggestion, Lucy's eye had flashed briefly and the screen was shut down. Her eyes widened.

"Oh…. Oh wow. This is…"

The Netrunner looked almost as if she was seeing the world for the first time, seeming delighted.

"It's…. So quick. So smooth. It's… effortless."

David's face felt like it was hurting with how widely he was smiling.

"So… good gift?"

She grinned and turned to face him, taking the hand that hadn't left hers for a moment since she'd been out under, and kissed the back of it gently.

"Amazing gift."

To be perfectly honest, it just made him look forward to saving up for the Rippler. If she was this excited over the MK 2 which while very good was still nowhere near the top of the market?

The Rippler would make her lose her goddamn mind.

Vik, satisfied that the two of them had had the chance to speak, began running through the safety and checks necessary to make sure everything was working like clockwork.

It took only a few minutes, but she'd taken well to the new deck, and seemed ready to get moving.

"Alright… just take it easy. No throwing around rapid quickhacks or strenuous activity for a couple days. Sex should be fine, but don't get too aerobic."

Viktor said bluntly and without any trace of humor in his voice. Both Lucy and David blushed just a bit, but nodded showing that they understood.

With a little stretch, Viktor got to his feet, placing his gaze squarely on David now, his face looking… eager.

"Alright kid...I'm gonna head to the gym. You should talk to Misty, she'll be heading out here soon."

Lucy took David's proffered hand, getting carefully to her feet, and they all left the clinic.

Viktor did as he had said, and made his way towards Stallion Boxing, a bit of a spring in his step that made David look slightly bemused and Lucy giggle.

".... Why do I get the feeling that whatever that man has cooked up for me, is gonna get me knocked the fuck out?"

He said dryly as they walked slowly, hand in hand to Misty's.

Misty meanwhile was humming and going between a chair and a shelf full of various new age materials.

"Oh! David, Lucy, it's good to see you. Did you need something? I was going to close up soon and get going to the gym." She spoke, her eyes focusing on dealing with her stock.

David looked over at Lucy who also seemed confused.

"I was thinking… we could ask her about stuff involving… you, me, and Becca."

He said quietly as Misty continued her inventory patiently.

Lucy frowned initially, before nodding slowly.

"That's… not a bad idea. But… let's not talk about it to the crew for a bit."

He snorted.

"Yeah… Maine and Pilar are gonna be annoying."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You think they're bad? You should see how Dorio gets."

They could have gone like this for a bit, but they were cut off by Misty walking past them to her register.

"So how can I help you two?"

Lucy looked hesitant, but as David wrapped an arm around her, his warm hand caressing her exposed wide hips, she relaxed.

"... So David and I had a conversation last night. You know Becca right?"

Misty smiled.

"Oh I know Becca. She's a sweet girl. Full of positive energy."

David snorted. Yeah… that was a simple description of Becca for sure.

David picked up the explanation next, laying out what had happened. He went into a bit more detail, explaining how he had felt, and how ashamed and worried and confused he'd felt.

Lucy upon hearing it had latched tighter to him, rubbing his back soothingly.

Misty meanwhile listened with that almost supernatural level of calm and understanding as Lucy took over and explained the situation they were now in, her face never shifting to anything other than curiosity, interest, and finally happiness.

"It's wonderful that the both of you have become open to the concept of love beyond the standard bounds. There is NOTHING wrong with a two person monogamous relationship, but it's always nice to see two people who love each other not torn apart by honest affection towards another. But I suppose you're not sure how to begin?"

David nodded with a flush.

Misty laughed softly.

"The thing that a lot of people get caught up in, whether it's polyamory, monogamy, or even just friendships or familial relationships… is trying to find the perfect moment where nothing will go wrong, and everything goes as planned. But I think the both of you know that nothing in life ever goes as planned like that."

Lucy grimaced, but tilted her head in acceptance of Misty's words.

"So my advice… talk to her. Actually…"

She hummed in thought before a slow almost sly smile crossed her face.

"Why don't you invite her to go with you after the gym? If I know Rebecca like I think I do… she'll enjoy what comes afterwards."

"Ok seriously, what's with everybody making cryptic or ominous statements today?"

David groused goodnaturedly as Lucy considered the punk woman's words.

Misty just smiled.

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. Now go on. I'm closing up, and I'll be right behind you."

Heeding her words, the both of them left the shop, and held hands once more as they walked to the gym.

"So… still sure about all this Lucy?"

The Netrunner chuckled and bumped him with her hip.

"Yes David. I'm sure. I was really nervous about it at first. I still am a little. But with how you and Becca are so considerate of how I feel… I feel a lot more confident in it. You seem more nervous than I am."

Well. She wasn't wrong.

"I guess…. I guess I'm still trying to get how my gonk ass managed to interest two beautiful women."

She looked over at him with surprise, before her smile softened.

"... That's probably part of your charm David. But believe me when I say… you are more than desirable enough to attract us. I'm not going to pretend I don't think you're incredibly attractive, but the big factor that made me fall for you so strongly… is how kind you are. So sweet. So loving. You don't play games, and you do everything you can to avoid hurting people you care about. It's… it's not hard to fall for you David."

His face felt like it could melt ice with how strongly he was blushing. His heart felt like it was aching with just how sweet she was being, making him want to just pull her into an alley and kiss her senseless.

".... I love you."

It was all he could say. Three simple words that carried so much feeling and emotion, reciprocated by her squeezing his hand firmly.

"Love you too."

She said quietly, at peace.

They didn't speak for the rest of the walk, only reveling in their proximity to one another as they finally entered the gym.

It was after he'd gotten changed into his workout clothes and headed over to the ring that he realized what was going on.

Jackie was in the center of the ring, his gloves already laced up, the big Latino bull pulling off a couple of combination strikes in the air. David looked him over now, as the man had removed his normal jacket and his shirt, leaving him bare chested.

Now, David might have put on a little mass since he started… but holy shit. Jackie was a fucking wall of meat, but in a healthy looking way. Not like how some of the Animals looked like they could barely even move with how swole they were.

Jackie was the epitome of a Heavyweight fighter, every inch of his mass tailored for power and strength. Compared to him, David felt like a friggin tooth pick. It was somehow even worse than comparing himself to Maine, because it was obvious that the man had only become a hulk of muscle and metal through multiple upgrades.

Welles on the other hand had obviously built himself up by hand, the long and hard way.

Walking up to Vik, the man had his gloves ready as Misty and Lucy sat off to the side, chatting and watching them.

"Alright kid, let's get you going, and put you up against Jackie."

David's eyes widened.

".... You're shitting me. This is your test?"

He'd remembered that Vik had talked about wanting to get him a proper sparring partner, and had mentioned Jackie as being his preferred pick. But he hadn't expected this.

"Mmm. I want to see how you stack up. How much you've learned since you started. I'm not gonna tell you you've got no chance, but your goal here isn't to WIN. It's to respond to a stronger opponent. Jackie isn't gonna be holding back. You get me? This is where shit gets real."

David took a breath and held his hands out, having already taped them up.

"Lace me up then Vik. I'm ready."

__

He was not ready. Stepping into the ring had been nerve-wracking as Jackie had squared up to him.

"You ready choom? Vik said you're not bad, and I could use a new sparring buddy."

Vik had said he wasn't bad? Well then. Maybe he was doing alright after all.

"Yeah. Let's do this."

Jackie shrugged and brought his hands up, the gloves spaced instinctively from many years of practice.

"Alright then. Let's do this vato."

Welles was a beast. A machine. Every strike felt like he was getting fucked up by a sledgehammer. It was only thanks to his more natural agility and speed that he'd been able to slip a couple of punches with some fancy footwork and head movements.

The few shots he'd managed to throw at the man's gut had been weathered seemingly with no issue.

It felt like they'd been fighting for hours, every single second passing like a minute with how laser focused he was.

But despite his speed, and his increasing skill, eventually Jackie got that one go-.

__

"-id. Kid are you ok?"

David groaned in pain and bleariness as he struggled to retain consciousness, his head aching, but surprisingly not as much as he'd expected it to.

"Christ Choom, you sure you didn't send in a fullborg to fucking knock my block off?"

He asked with a wry quirk of his eyebrows, looking up at Vik, who snorted.

"Ok, he's being a smartass. He'll be fine."

"He'd better be."

Came the cold, glacial tone of Lucy, who made her presence known kneeling next to him, squeezing his hand with her own, her face coming into view as she looked down at him.

"Hey… you ok David?"

He chuckled weakly.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Except for my pride. Help me up?"

He said, holding his arms up. Lucy shook her head in fond exasperation as she stood up and took an arm.

What was surprising was the large more muscular arm that gripped his other, the two of them pulling him up to his feet.

He was a bit woozy at first, but he managed to stay steady as Jackie clapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about the pride stuff choom. You did a lot better than expected. And shit, those arms 'ganic? I'm gonna have bruises on my belly for a week."

He said with a jovial laugh.

"Shit amigo, You keep up like this, and maybe one day I'll be on the mat instead of you."

Lucy was clinging to his arm, frowning at the big man, seemingly not having forgiven his part in knocking David out, but was keeping quiet, though her eyes glowed briefly.

David meanwhile just gave him a little grin, and offered his hand, Jackie taking it and shaking.

"Honestly, I'd love to keep sparring with you, choom. Helps keep my head on straight. Keep me humble, ya know?"

Jackie just chucked and patted his shoulder again.

"Alright, David, I'll see you later."

Heading off towards where Misty was, Jackie's presence was soon replaced with Viktor's.

"Alright kid...you ready to hear what you did right and what you fucked up?"

David nodded as he went to take a seat on the chairs near the ring, Lucy quickly following him.

"Alright… lay it on me."

Vik hummed as he looked over at the ring, and then back at the young Edgerunner.

"Well, you did very well for the most part. You remembered your footing. Kept your hands up. You did a couple of textbook slips to gut shots, and you didn't try to get fancy nor flail around in fear. But you made one mistake."

David frowned as his hand and wrist was caressed by Lucy, thinking of what he'd done that had been messed up.

".... Um… well it felt like no matter how far away I got…"

His eyes widened. Of fucking course.

"Shit. I forgot to keep my distance tight. He had too much of a reach advantage so I should have been moving in closer to take advantage."

Vik nodded satisfied.

"That's precisely it. You probably weren't going to beat Jackie unless you used your Sandy, but you'd have stayed conscious longer if you'd stayed close."

David gave a little sheepish laugh.

"I guess I was still freaking out a bit. Choom hits like a fucking semi. Built like a tank too, felt like nothing I was doing to him had ANY fucking chance of getting through."

Viktor shook his head, responding quickly.

"Nah kid. You've got some power behind those swings. If it weren't Jackie up there, pretty sure you could put up a decent fight against damn near any 'ganic opponent we put you against. You didn't seem like you were a natural at first but… as you learn more, the more fluidly you seem to grasp the stuff I'm teaching. A couple more months, and I don't think I'll have anything more to teach you."

He snorted and looked over at Lucy with a playful grin.

"Kids like a damn sponge. Pretty sure you'll have a fun time training him up to be satisfactory."

She blushed, but also looked mildly terrified as she looked over at David,and buried her face in his shoulders.

"So, if you're done teasing us…."

David drawled with a hint of exasperation.

"How about it, doc? Am I ready? Or is it back to the drills?"

David hoped it was the former, but he trusted Vik. If the man said he wasn't ready?

He wasn't ready, and he'd just have to train even hard to get prepared.

Vik looked at him steadily… and smirked.

"No such luck kid. Time for you to make me some eddies."

He blinked, before his mouth stretched into a wide grin.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Go get your stuff. There's an early morning fighting tourney set up. Got a request from a buddy of mine to find someone fresh who could knock the block off some punk who thinks he's hot shit."

David just grinned some more and got to his feet, his body actually feeling pretty good for just having gone a round with a fucking tank in 'ganic skin.

"Fucking NOVA!"

He said with anticipation beginning to flood his veins, standing up and squeezing Lucy's hand before letting go.

"I don't need anything special?"

Viktor shook his head.

"Nah kid. This is low level cyberware shit. No using your Sandy, and the opponent shouldn't have anything special like subdermal armor or anything. We'll see when we get there though."

The ripper said as he patted David on the shoulder, and sent him the link to the location.

Looking at the data the young cyberpunk was confused at the location.

"Why's it so close to Jig-Jig street?"

Viktor shrugged.

"My buddy's a former Claw, and still does business with them, the gate, betting etc. He does the organization, Tyger's does the security. Tygers get a cut of the payout. Alright, I'll see you when you get there, your fights scheduled in an hour."

With that serving as a farewell, David watched as the Ripper headed out to the tourney location.

"So…. You want to watch me fight?"

He asked her quietly, and She smirked.

"I don't know… think you can stay conscious this time?"

"Ok, ow?"

He said with a faux hurt look on his face before the both of them giggled a little at the byplay.

"In all seriousness… Yeah, David. It's your first fight. I'm gonna be there to support you. But… Misty had a good point. Rebecca would probably really like watching and…"

David exhaled forcefully, seeing where she was going with this.

"It would probably be a good way to try and broach the topic of us."

She nodded, and leaned against him, his arm immediately going to wrap around her side.

"Yeah. So… what do you think? Want to give her a call?"

He considered it. It was early. Becca might not even be up.

(Hesitating. Shouldn't. Call.)

Bu-

(Excuses. Scared.)

What if I mess up?

(Inevitable. Keep trying.)

…. Shit. You're right..

(Smug!)

Sandy was right. He was coming up with excuses and reasonings to not address it clearly and presently.

"Yeah… I'll Call her."

Moving outside, they leaned against the outer wall for the gym, and David called Rebecca.

David: "Hey Becca. You up?"

For a moment, there was no response, but after about 15 seconds, a vision of the Gremlin herself tiredly rubbing her eyes as she sat up filled the screen.

Rebecca: "mmm… fuck dimples, it's early. If you were anyone else, you'd be on the end of an ass chewing by yours truly. As it is, you're lucky you're cute. What's up?"

He blushed at her words, making Lucy raise her eyebrow at him with a small smile.

David: "Sorry about that. I was worried I'd wake you up but… well I wanted to see if you were interested in coming to see my first fight."

That seemed to perk her up.

Rebecca: "oh no shit? Old Man Vik said you were ready to try out?"

David: "Well, he said that it was time for me to earn him some eddies but… you know how he is."

Rebecca snorted as she started to stretch out, her small breasts on display in her bra as she started to wake, his eyes drinking it all in, part of him wondering if it was ok to really be ogling her like this.

Rebecca: "yeah… the old man is always going on about sappiness and rep, but he's a fucking softy. If he thinks you're ready this should be fucking fun. Where are we going?"

David: "sending you the location now. And… Becca? Lucy talked with me last night."

For the very first time, David saw fear in Becca's eyes, as she swallowed.

Rebecca: "... Just… save it for when I get there ok?"

He blinked, not really comprehending why she seemed so scared, but nodding slowly.

David: "if that's what you want… Ok. I'll see you there?"

She gave him a weak little smile, and gave him a thumbs up.

Rebecca: "See you there choom."

The call ended almost immediately afterwards, and he focused his attention on Lucy once more.

"Huh… that was odd."

"Mm?"

She responded, taking his hand as they walked down the streets to the NCART once more.

"Nothing just… Becca seemed really nervous."

Hearing him say that, she burst out laughing.

"Of course she's nervous Gonk. She likes you. A lot."

He blinked, before blushing a little.

"... I mean… I got the feeling she liked me, but enough to be that flustered? I…"

Of course she liked him that much. None of this would have happened if she didn't care a lot more than just thinking he was cute. Why on earth was he even saying this?

…. Because deep down he supposed he didn't feel he was worth this. Any of this.

Lucy looked at him concerned as his face had gone through a mix of emotions before settling on wry resignation.

"David… Are you ok?"

David almost shrugged it off, but he hesitated. That was what he did every time the last time around. Shrugged off people's worry, people's concern, just telling him that he was fine. That he could take it.

But look where he'd ended up.

".... I don't know Lucy. I think… I need to think about this before I talk about it. Is that ok?"

She still looked worried, but with a squeeze of her hand, she nodded.

"Ok… but David.. I love you, ok? I could say it a thousand times, and it would never be enough or stop being true. And I can't speak for Rebecca… but I know she cares about you so much. So when you're ready to talk… we'll be there. Ok?"

He swallowed hard, but felt his heart lighten at the words she spoke.

"... Thank you."

It was shortly after that, that they boarded the NCART. For once, they decided not to talk, just leaning against one another, his arm wrapping around her shoulders and hers around his waist.

Once more just a soft, loving couple. A rarity in Night City.

As they arrived in Japantown, he felt his blood beginning to rise. Not only did he have a fight but… shit. He was going to be talking with Rebecca for the first time since this arrangement had been decided.

They'd found the building, as said a little off of Jig-Jig street, and seemed totally non-descript. As they entered however, they were met by two Tyger Claws, katanas at their sides, and pistols lazily in their hands.

"Hey choom. You here to watch? 100 Eddies each."

Surprisingly polite, the hangers were now slightly more alert, and David had to hide his surprise. He wasn't used to gangoons not being dicks.

"Nah man. I'm here to fight."

The one on the left looked at him skeptically but shrugged.

"Hey, it's your body. Alright, fighters go in free, but their friends gotta pay. "

As he was about to pay, the familiar tone of his best Choom floated through the room.

"Dimples! Ice Queen!"

It took him back actually just how strongly her presence affected him, but… maybe it was because for the first time, he really let himself feel his attraction and affection without guilt.

But his heart began to race, and his body shuddered lightly as he turned to see Becca, looking like she'd ran the entire way there, a light sheen of sweat covering her body, as always partially concealed by that bulky coat.

Her hair was lightly tangled up like she hadn't even had the chance to brush her hair, and in general she looked a bit disheveled.

She was utterly gorgeous.

"Did I make it?"

She said a little bit out of breath, Lucy giggling softly at the sight of her, and David blushing.

"Yeah pretty thing, the fights haven't started yet."

Came the voice of the other Tyger gangers, oozing with a slightly sleazy attempt at charisma.

David immediately bristled and Rebecca glared at the man.

"Wasn't talking to you, Gonk."

To forestall any more attempts at flirting or antagonism, David wired 200 Eddie's to the man, and gestured for them to follow.

"Your sponsor should be down there, they'll tell you what ya need to do."

The first Tyger said, looking amused at the other pouting one.

David led them down the stairs of the residential building, into a massive basement, with a cage and a pit below the stands.

Huh… standing room only he supposed. He was brought back to the present by Lucy tapping his shoulder.

"You talk with her. I'll go find Vik. See you later, handsome."

And with a soft peck of his lips, Lucy sashayed off, being sure to give her hips just that little bit of extra sway.

His eyes, of course, were zeroed in, and only broke contact when Becca nudged his hip with her elbow.

"Damn choom, didn't you get enough of her last night?" She said with a Cheshire cat grin. If one didn't know Rebecca well, they'd assume she was completely relaxed.

But David did know her. He knew her even better than the first time now, and she was nervous. It was obvious in her shifting eyes, her nervous energy in her legs.

"I could never get enough of her but… that's not what I wanted to talk about."

He said softly, gesturing over at an empty bench. The two of them sat down nearly at the same time, not saying anything at first before they spoke over each other.

"So I talked with Lu-"

"David, you don-"

They stopped and looked at each other before breaking into incredulous laughter, leaning against each other in affectionate amusement as they caught their breaths.

David, feeling buoyed by the interaction, turned to her, his face shy but hopeful.

"So… like I said. I talked with Lucy and… she said that you liked me a lot."

She swallowed but nodded, almost defiant in her expression.

"I do."

God this felt so awkward to talk about after spending months now pretending the problem didn't exist.

".... I like you too, Becca. A lot."

Her eyes widened softly, as what looked like hope began to cross her face.

"So… Lucy said that you asked if she'd be willing to share. If she'd be willing to let you…get closer to me. She said she was ok with it, and that it was my decision really. So…."

Her eyes were laser focused upon him, her body tense and apprehensive.

"...if you're really sure you want to try dating a gonk like me, I'm down Rebecca."

She moved so fast, he barely registered her movement, launching herself at his waist and squeezing him tightly.

"... You're sure?"

She mumbled against his torso, her face buried in his black shirt.

"I'm… I'm not all womanly like Lucy, I'm crass, I'm a fucking nerd, and I just…"

David gripped her shoulders, and forced her back just a bit so that he could tentatively cup her cheek to make her look at him.

Damn her skin is soft…

"You don't have to be like Lucy, you're womanly enough in your own way, you're fucking adorable, and you being a nerd is cute. So please believe me when I say, the only reason I hadn't tried to date you before, is because I was already dating someone. The fact that I can actually date the both of you? It's a dream I don't want to wake from. So… Becca…? Be my girlfriend?"

For one of the first times in his life, he understood what the books meant by tears of joy. At least, partially. They weren't full-on tears, but Rebecca was misting up pretty good.

Before she spoke, she seemed to think for a moment, and grinned at him playfully.

"I don't know…. Win your fight, and we'll see."

It was just so quintessentially Becca to be a cheeky little shit that he couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah… alright fair enough. Speaking of that… I should probably go find Vik and get ready."

She laughed with him, but reached out to grasp his hand softly.

"...David… you might be a gonk. But you're a gonk worth falling for, okay? Now go kick some ass so I can congratulate you after~."

Her words were punctuated with a molten lust and affection that was clear in both her words, and her eyes, squeezing his hand one last time, as she got up and made to go after Lucy, also being sure to give her hips some extra sway.

Rebecca's sway, however, had the extra benefit of a LOT of extra meat.

Fuck these girls are gonna kill me.

But what a way to go.

(Focus. Mate later.)

It's not mating! It's just…

(Mating ritual. Breeding unnecessary.)

For a brief moment, an image of Rebecca and Lucy standing side by side, swollen with children flashed through his mind.

…. Well shit. That's a kink I didn't know I had.

(Breeding inadvisable)

Yeah, no shit. And I'm sure as hell not ready to be a dad yet.

(Acknowledged. Can...help?)

… imma need you to explain that one after this.

(Acknowledged)

Standing up, he noticed that the massive basement was starting to fill up with people watching the early level fights. Basically two complete novices throwing punches. Kinda weak sauce shit, but people liked it.

His fight would come later.

Spotting Vik down near a set of stairs that led even further down, he made his way over with a grin.

"Hey, Coach. What do I need to know?"

Vik smirked.

"Well, it's gonna be bare knuckles, and your opponent is gonna be chromed up a bit. No kinetic armor, but he does have some corpo brat tuned Gorilla arms so he punches above his league."

David raised an eyebrow.

"Corpobrat?"

Viktor nodded, gesturing over at his opponent. His opponent who was..

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."

(Bewilderment)

How the fuck does this bastard keep turning up like a bad enny?

Katsuo Tanaka was the fucker that Vik was pointing at, surrounded by his usual cronies and an attractive older woman who looked so very, very bored as Katsuo bragged and sneered, his torso bare for once and being almost scrawnier than David had been, though it had been born of vanity rather than malnutrition like David.

"You know him?" Viktor asked amused.

"Used to go to school with him. Liked to talk a LOT of shit about my mom, and beat the shit out of me with some premium chipware and chromed up arms."

Viktor hummed.

"... I want you to forget all about that, ok? Just fight. Fight him, and treat him like a dangerous enemy. When you've beaten him...then you can indulge in satisfaction."

Part of David rebelled at that. This was the perfect moment to exact revenge!

"But… Vik… he called my mom a whore. After she had just fucking died."

Vik hissed in sympathy, but didn't change his expression.

".... Then let your final punch be the one you throw in anger, kid. But until you've beaten him, I don't want to see you get sloppy. Understand?"

That….

That was acceptable actually. He didn't want to get sloppy and let the little shit beat him. Gorilla arms weren't nothing to play with.

"So… this is the guy your buddy wanted knocked out, huh?"

Vik snorted.

"Yeah… apparently the little shit has been coming to this tourney for the last couple of weeks and showing off with his expensive chrome and chipware. Nobody who's a newbie has been able to beat him, so he's become the new champion. Problem is...well. you know him apparently. He's a smug little corposhit, and needs smacked around."

He hummed softly as he watched some of the other fighters.

"This… is the bottom of the barrel isn't it?"

Viktor nodded.

"Lowest of the low. Best way to get a little experience, but we'll be moving you up in no time. No point in being a big fish in a small pond. Makes you complacent."

He hummed quietly, nodding at that. He wasn't planning on becoming a Legend or anything foolish like that, but he sure as shit didn't want to become satisfied with his skills. That was an easy way to get flatlined.

"Well…. No point in looking ahead until I deal with the here and now."

Vik nodded approvingly as he patted David on the shoulder.

"Alright kid, let's head down to the locker room."

It wasn't much of a locker room, but it was a place to give the fighters some privacy before they were ready to go.

It took a while, but eventually, the final match was announced.

"Alright kid… show me what you've learned. "

Vik said as they moved to the cage, Vik holding onto David's shirt, necklace, and jacket.

Removing the jacket was once more nerve wracking, but as it was Vik holding onto it, he managed.

He rolled his shoulders, finally taking stock of his own body. He was still fairly lean, but he had added a decent amount of mass to his frame, especially in the shoulders and core.

His muscles seemed like they were made of steel cord, and he could feel that this wasn't his full potential…

But he was getting there.

A voice over a mic was heard announcing the fight as he stretched outside the cage.

"Alright folks, we've got one last fight on our hands! In this corner, we have our champion! Hate him, love him, you cannot deny his record, it's KATSUOOOOOOOO TANAAAKKAAAAAA!!!!"

An insane amount of boos filled the basement, as Katsuo walked into the cage, arms held up arrogantly as he practically drank in the hatred of the crowd, showing off by flexing and laughing at them all.

"And in the challengers corner! It's a brand new fighter, reportedly having never stepped into the ring… DAVID MAAAAAARTINEZZZZZZ!"

Taking his cue, David took a breath and stepped into the cage, the crowd lightly cheering, not even really for him, but for the fact that someone might step up and shut the Corpobrats mouth.

"Hah! You gotta be kidding me! Not only do I get to kick the shit out of some street trash, it's the street trash that never seems to learn his lesson?

It must be my lucky day!"

David just wrinkled his nose and lifted his fists up in a familiar and well practiced state.

"For fucks sake just shut up and fight."

Katsuo's sneer turned vile as David spoke.

"Oh I'm going to enjoy this, you piece of trash."

It was almost just like the first time he'd fought Katsuo. The little shit had a new chipset somehow. Something more… MMA focused than the bullshit kung fu one.

The strikes were fast, and hard, hammering at his blocks, his bones creaking when he actually got hit.

For a moment he felt like he'd be overwhelmed.

And for good reason too. The punches came as smoothly as Jackie's, though lacking the sheer power and impact.

His own punches were blocked or deflected , and Katsuo got more and more arrogant.

"I fucking TOLD you Martinez! If you wanted to step to me, you'd have to get some serious chrome! You still have the fucking 'ganic knuckles!"

It went on like this for almost another full minute before the round was called, and they were told to go back to their corners.

"Shit kid, you don't look so hot. What's tripping you up on this brat?"

Vik asked him as he dabbed a wet cloth at David's bruised and slightly bloody face, where Katsuo's lightning fast strikes had managed to catch him.

"He's just so fucking FAST! Fucking premium chipware…"

Vik sighed and smacked David upside the head.

"Goddammit kid, he's no faster than Jackie, and you were doing good with him earlier. And he has a weakness Jackie didn't. Come on… you know this kid."

And just like that, they were back in the cage, Katsuo starting to showboat and taunt David more.

But something in Vik's words triggered something in David's mind.

The reason why chipware was inferior to a normal mastery of the same level.

His eyes widened.

Every punch was exactly the same.

With this… sudden realization, he cursed himself silently for not remembering. The perspective given helped him realize the angles, the timing, all of it. It could all be predicted. It could all be countered.

He smiled.

It was not a nice smile. It was all teeth, and blood, and the promise of pain.

The next time Katsuo went for a strike, David had an answer for it, slipping the punch, and countering with a punishing uppercut to the kidney, making the little shit almost squeal in pain.

"You… how did you?!"

But David wasn't here to talk.

David was here to fight. So even as Katsuo attempted to recover, David pressed his advantage. Punishing blow after blow striking the Corpo brats torso, barely protecting his face from the sudden deluge of well timed and powerful strikes.

"You- you piece of shit! Stay dow-"

But with one final SNARLING left cross to Katsuo's jaw, the Corpobrat crumpled and folded like a book, collapsing on the ground.

There was only silence for a moment, before a roar of approval and general positive fervor filled the basement.

"AND THAT IS IT FOLKS! THE CORPORATE CHAMPION HAS BEEN FELLED BY OUR NEWEST COMPETITOR! DAAAVIIIIIIIDDD MAAAARTINEZZZZZ!"

David just stood in the middle of the cage looking down at Katsuo. It… would be so very easy to kill him now. And it wouldn't even be hard. With Sandy assisting, he could kill him without a trace of it ever having been him.

But what would be the point? Katsuo was a piece of shit. But he...Katsuo just didn't even register on his list of enemies anymore. Only annoyance.

He turned away from the spoiled corpo, and walked to Vik who had a wide wide smile on his face as he clapped David's shoulder gently.

"You did it kid. I fucking knew you could."

David laughed and punched Vik lightly on the shoulder.

"Ya couldn't have fucking reminded me about chipwares flaws?"

Vik shrugged.

"Gotta be able to realize shit in a flash. Not always gonna have it handed to you."

Reluctantly, David admitted that that made a fair amount of sense.

"Yeah alright… but did you get some money off of betting?"

Viktor smirked.

"Let me put it this way. Your check ups, and lessons are more than paid off. Now go on.. I'll transfer your prize later. I think you've got two lovely ladies waiting for you."

His eyes widened, and a smile crossed his face as Viktor just laughed and waved him off.

"You did good kid. We'll do another one of these in a bit after you and Jackie bounce around in the ring a bit more. Now go on."

With a last little farewell, David made his way up the stairs after having recovered his shirt, necklace, and coat again.

Putting all that on, he was pleased to find that Viktor had been right. Lucy looked a bit worried but proud, while Becca… Becca looked a bit shy and also… aroused.

"You did good David. I'm proud of you. But try not to get too busted up, hmm? I like my input's face to not be so swollen and tender that I can't kiss him."

He laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah… kind of had a mental block. I got past it though."

Turning towards Becca, he raised an eyebrow.

"So…whatcha think? Was my victory good enough for me to be your boyfriend?"

Becca gave him a mock thoughtful hum, tapping her cheek.

"Welllll… you did get beat up a lot in that first round. But you're really cute so…. Yeah. I suppose I can be your girlfriend."

She teased him, her face broken into a wide smile, a look of pure joy and satisfaction in her eyes as Lucy watched them carefully, but even then a small smile could be seen across her lips.

"Well then…. Why don'-"

"MARTINEZ!!!"

The nasal, unpleasant, and just downright annoying screech of Katsuo cut through the positive mood like monowire through flesh.

He sighed and turned to face his former classmates for what was hopefully the last time. The Corpo was seething as the rest of his crew tried to get him to just leave. The older woman on the other hand was openly watching David with interest.

"Katsuo. Just… stop. We don't go to school together anymore. We're not friends. We don't walk the same path so just… go. Be a Corpo. Go through school. Find a job with 'saka that drains what little humanity you have left out of you. And leave me be."

It was actually kind of pathetic watching him sputter and snarl.

"You… you piece of shit. You think you're something just because you cheated? You're nothing! Scum under my boot! "

Rebecca snorted as she raised an eyebrow.

"Cheated huh? Cuz it looks to me you used chipware to fake like you had talent, and got mad when money turned out not to be the superpower you thought it was."

Katsuo turned to her, damn near spitting with rage.

"Oh, is this another one of your whores Martinez? I-"

Before he could continue, Becca cut him off.

"Yep. Me and her? Personal hoes to this gorgeous hunk of man. Now, if you don't mind, loser, we need to go reward him. Come on, Daddy."

And with that, she'd casually gripped his hand and placed it directly on her big meaty ass, Lucy following her lead and having him grab her smaller but still exceptionally plush behind, and led him out of the fight club, leaving the Corpo behind, hopefully for good.

He was so surprised by the sudden exit that she'd engineered, that he almost forgot to be aroused.

Almost.

As they moved into the streets of Japan Town, he made to move his hands, but the both of them just squeezed him tight.

"I did say I wanted to reward you, didn't I?"

Rebecca said with a grin that had the faintest hint of a blush, as Lucy just shrugged.

"This is about as much as I can handle today babe… you kind of wrecked me last night. I actually kind of want to head back to bed. You good to hang with Becca?"

The both of them looked at her surprised.

Lucy chuckled.

"Come on… just because we're all in this together doesn't mean you guys don't need to have your own talk. I'll see you later, ok?"

She said softly, leaning in and kissing David's lips gently.

Turning to Rebecca, she hesitated, but Rebecca plowed through it, and gave her a warm hug. She whispered something softly and Lucy just giggled.

"You… made a good sales pitch."

She teased the Shortstack, before making her way home.

Rebecca and him spent a little time watching her leave.

".... She might not have my ass, but damn that girl is still Juicy."

Rebecca mused, before looking up at David shyly.

"So… this is it huh? We're really doing this?"

David also looked kind of shy, a small smile crossing his face as he gripped her hands, squeezing them softly.

"... Yeah. I mean...if you're sure."

__

She laughed at this fucking gonks words. If she was sure?

"Davey, I was sure I wanted you from the moment we had noodles together."

He blushed. God why did he always have to be so friggin cute???

"But…. Why? Like...I accept it. But I don't understand."

There was that lack of self confidence and esteem. Poor gonk didn't understand how wonderful he was.

"You're sweet. You're smart. You're silly. And you're just so very very kind. You look at me, and you see the heart of me. The mask I show the world, and the tender vulnerabilities I hide."

God she was starting to talk like the trashy romance novels she indulged in.

"What about you Dimples? Did my ass capture your heart?"

She teased, though was curious. David was different. If it was just sex, she was sure he wouldn't have even considered any of this.

David looked at her with those fucking puppy eyes, and proceeded to make her melt.

"Becca…. You're so fucking smart. You're gorgeous, you're a loyal friend, and someone I trust my life with, and I'd trust you with Lucy's as well. I am LUCKY to be in a position where you decided you want my gonk ass. "

She flushed a dark red, and her impulses finally took the better of her, as she tugged at his jacket.

"Kiss me?"

"Can I pick you up?"

Fucking hell, he even asked before he did some shit like this?

"David, you have permission to manhandle me all you want. Now KISS Me."

He picked her up (by her ass! Yes…. Squeeze all you like baby) and pressed her against a wall, capturing her small mouth with his own larger one, his tongue dancing along hers.

Oh fuck…. Lucy wasn't goddamn kidding about this…

She moaned into the kiss, gripping his shoulders as he started to suck on her tongue, her breathing speeding up, her heart racing.

Fuck, she could feel her panties being soaked through, And she didn't even give a single solitary fuck.

Wrapping her legs as best she could around his waist, she pressed her thick plush thighs tightly against him as they slowly disconnected.

He looked like he was few steps from fucking her right here on the sidewalk.

And while she would if he desired it… she'd prefer if their first time was… more romantic.

"Can…. I be a total cocktease and ask you to take me to dinner first?"

He grinned at her, moving one of his hands away from her massive ass to caress her cheek, making her instinctively lean into it, closing her eyes.

"Whatever you want… ok Becca?"

Oh David….

T̸̢̥͎̦̻̭̰̮̱̻͑̔̽̐ͅh̴̰̤̯͔̲͇͇̳̗͇̃̋͂̇̏̋̌̆̎̈́̎̚͝i̶̢̓̌́̉̓̋͋͊͐͗̾̕s̴̨̪̹̻̠̩͖̪̻̻̺̃͐͛͂͂͑͐̀̕ ̷̫̀̀̃̂̽̇̾́̒͌̇̓͝͝͠͝i̴̧̹͉̝̬̹̩̳̰̠͊̾̅̒̐̇̊ͅs̸͙̖͐̃ ̸̨̛͚̹͇̺̜̩̟͍̖̪̥̟̪̎͒͆̉͛̉̒̆͝ͅw̶͙͖̫̺̩̺̱̤͚͓̤͔̯͐͐͛̈̂͂͐̕͝h̷͉̼̻̤̩̼̯͙̻̟͍̬̮̀̎̓̎̔͗̒̏͌̌ͅy̴͙͖̭̬̞̌̌̀́́͒̑̄͠ ̴̰̯̼̰͕̝͗͆͝į̵̨̼̦̺̬͙͍͍̜̖̻͍̽́̔̆̅̓̃͒͑̇͘͘͠͝͠͝ͅt̴̫͔͍̅̀͛̌̽̆̈́̌̎̑̀̚͝͠ ̶̧̳̖̘̱̯̱̩̬̺̣̓̉̽̋̀́̆͆̉́̂̈̚͠w̸̧̛̭͇̤̥͆͐̈̓̅͌̿̕͠â̴̡̰͇̱͍̮͍̦̙̍̀͑̽̒́͒̉̇̚̚s̸̱̀͛̌̂̂̔̄̓̀̿̑͝͠ ̶̳͍̬̺̘̳̙̿̓̏͂͂̇̉̃̍͌̉̚͠s̵̭̲̰̏̆̓̄̇̎̈̀͘͘͝͝ó̸͚͓͎̂͠ ̴̨̩̬͔̘̩͖͕͈̤̩̳͗͐̆͋̍͒͊̉͜͝e̶̘̞͕̐͋̈́̐̓͗̈͒͂̌̂̈͘͝å̷̘̺̱̥̯̤̞̊̄̿͝s̴͚͉̹̊͐́ͅy̷̼͚̏͒͌͑͘͜ ̶̨̖͉͖̍̓̈́̚͘ţ̶̛̮̘͖̙͕̟̣̳͎͍͕͔̳ơ̶̳̈́̇̄͆͝ ̵̨̺̞͎̫͎̉̊̇̋̋f̸̖̖̟͎̤̲͖̪̮͉͈̽̒̉̈̈͆̓̒̔͝a̶͈͓̻̤̋́̄̔̓̔̈́͂͒͜ļ̴̛͚͈̤̠̮̗͎͉̇͌l̴͎͖̀̋̀́̚̕͝ ̵̢̨̮̩̤͖̙̮͖̼̱̹̳̽͐̋̅̀͘͝i̷̮̻̠͑̽̒̓͗́̚n̴̜̮̟̤̻̺͚͆̿ ̷͔͍̑͒l̸̨̲͍̙͚̙͔̱̈́͛̆̀̔̒̓̌̎̎͒̕ȭ̸̖̥̲͈̀̅̌͊̇̈́̇̉̊́͋͝v̷̡̨͔̺̯̙̟̯̝͕̤͖̖̹̄̀̂͊e̴̢̡̜͎̰͉̺͕̗̜̾ ̶̬̇̑̈͝t̶̖̲̻̣͇̹̻͖̲̙̜̩̪̜̍̂͊́̓̽̚͜͝h̸̡̨̘͕͔͖̲̓͊̽́̈́̈́͛̂͂̇̆̍͂̕ę̷̧̨̦͖͓̰͔͙̪͈̩̝̳̱͐̉͂̋́̓̆̈́̏̒͌̎̏̇̇ ̴̧̦͓͔̮̝̟̪͉̘̀͌̔̂͝f̵̡̨̭̳̻̥̦̟̠͙̳̺̠̜̽ī̵̟͓̝̮̬̰̬̲̙̰̰̱̽̅͆̽͐r̷̥̯̲̘̝̯̭̔͊̾̈́̈́͐̐͝s̵̢̨̻̼̊̓̋̚͘͠t̵͎̣̪͎̺̀́̎́̀̅̒͋̓̌̌͘̚̚̕ ̸̡̖͈̮̻̦̖̅͛͋͌́̏͌̊̀͊ṫ̵̨̛̛̼̗͙̮͙͖̓̀̉̎̍̈́͐̑̋̚͝͠ï̸̧̡̧̯͍͇͚͚̩̱̬͔̟͔̌̿̿̄́͐͘ḿ̴̞̥̮̒̆͐̈́̐́̔͌̿͌̅̈̓͘͜e̸̤̬͉̣͗