Probably should have just kept my mouth shut last week since something did come up and I had to skip a day so y'all are getting your 3 chaps starting next week :P
Unless I get hit with the author curse but that couldn't possibly happen, right?
-----
Rebecca
She felt her nose twitch as she was woken up by the divine smell of fresh burrito.
Her eyes opened groggily, leaving her momentarily confused at the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling before the events of the previous night slammed back into place, making her let out a small, satisfied giggle.
She was so not going to be able to walk today, wasn't she?
"What is so funny?" A synthetic voice snapped her out of it, and she looked down to see the source of her ailment looking at her from atop a stool.
She went to sit up and was surprised that she was actually able to, the complete soreness she expected from yesterday's fun nowhere near as bad as she thought it'd be.
She dragged herself back against the pillow she leaned against the wall and looked back to her input with questioning eyes.
To which he merely exhaled in amusement and asked "Feeling alright?"
Holding back a grumble, Rebecca gave him a quick once over and immediately pouted "That is so not fair."
His golden eyes flashed with mirth as he shrugged "It isn't my fault you cling to the weakness of your flesh." He droned sarcastically before standing up, a steaming tray that she realized was the source of the smell in his hands.
Her eyes widened and she found herself holding back a delighted squeal as she realized what was going on.
She sniffed at the food in her lap and looked back up imperiously "You feed me."
Mike didn't hesitate for even a moment "No."
"Mean." She pouted but did start chomping the burrito down like a starved beast a mere second later, faux-glaring at the amused cyborg the entire time.
Something that only served to amuse him, if the light, challenging look he gave her was any indication.
She ignored the anticipatory shiver that passed through her body at the sight, and the sudden heat around her ears, and focused on filling the ravenous void in her stomach instead.
The amount of hunger she felt was almost too ridiculous, but she had other things to focus on and so she quickly forgot about it.
Like making sure things were clear between her and the badass, intelligent, super competent gonk who saved her ass, gave her the wildest night of her life, and then to top it all off brought her breakfast afterwards.
"We are mainlines now." She declared.
He blinked, tilting his head slightly "I thought that was obvious?"
Faced with the sheer earnestness that simply did not belong on the same continent as Night City, she failed to stop the peal of delighted laughter from leaving her.
In fact, she felt it deserved a reward, and gave her input the look.
"Later." He chuckled, and walked out of the workshop/room.
Rebecca ignored the twinge of disappointment she felt and was just about to succumb to her body's desire for a nap before she heard rising voices in the other room, unfamiliar female voices.
'Wasn't his mom supposed to be visiting a friend for the whole day?' She frowned.
And she found she was too curious to just shrug it off.
She hesitantly rejected the snug embrace of her blanket and got up, the cool metal floor biting her feet with no footwear in sight as she went to compensate for the inevitable wobbling... except she found her balance to be perfectly fine.
'Weird.' She narrowed her eyes, and grabbed the closest article of clothing to her, that being Mike's hoodie that was so large it felt more like a dress to someone of her size.
She held down a yawn, and just as a nearby wall rang out with a thump she stepped out of the room, finding herself staring at two blood covered women, while Mike was busy smacking his head against the wall.
Ignoring the sudden need to pinch herself, she looked at her clearly distressed input "Mike, what the fuck is happening?"
The taller and bloodier woman raised her eyebrow at him.
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
Unfortunately the concussive force of my forehead meeting the wall was insufficient to knock me out and spare me further suffering, so with a long suffering sigh I looked back to mom and Misty "You can tease me later. What. Happened?"
Thankfully, my tone and a warning look from Misty was enough for her to finally take things seriously, and the two of them quickly recounted the events of their shopping trip.
Good news? It was just a bunch of unaugmented druggies she painted across the alleyway. Literally barely worth the breath it took to mention them.
Bad news? She was obviously suffering from some kind of jitters, despite not feeling disturbed consciously.
Which meant it was a subconscious issue, which meant things were getting worse. Or they were already this bad and she finally got the chance to slip.
Fuck.
"How about the two of you clean yourselves up while I order us some food?" I proposed patiently "We can talk things over when you've had the time to cool down."
Mom caught on to my perceived attempt at redirection almost immediately, but that was more than enough time for Misty to start pushing her into the bathroom, and she had no defense against the younger woman's pleading gaze.
The moment the doors shut behind them I looked at Rebecca "Sorry-"
"Don't be a gonk." She smacked my forearm, and then held onto it "Come on, we should find them some clothes."
Despite the tense situation, all I could do as I was dragged towards the nearby closet was smile.
---
Stress eating seemed to be a commonality between Misty, myself, and mom, as we chewed through the pizzas I ordered like a bunch of human buzzsaws.
Well, in my case it was quite literal, but I had to admit the two of them made an impressive showing of it.
Not that it stopped mom from doing the inevitable the moment she caught her breath. She looked at Rebecca, pausing briefly at her visible Mox markings, gave me a sideways glance, and addressed her "So, how did the two of you meet?"
And of course, being the little shit that she was, Rebecca immediately began recounting the entire event while doing her utmost to make everything I did sound as embarrassing as humanly possible.
I did not enjoy the shine in my mother's eyes as she noticed what was going on.
The slumping of my shoulders and eventually my groans of despair only fueled the two devils onwards as they seemed to compete in which one could make me desire the sweet release of death more.
By the time they were done, I was face down in what remained of my pizza, my soul long since having left my body.
When I got up, the three of them looked supremely amused and mom gave me a proud and approving look "Good pick, Mikey."
Rebecca beamed, throwing her hands up in overdramatic celebration "Success!"
Things got a lot less painful for me after that as the conversation drifted away from 'everyone gang up on Mike' to simpler small talk.
Though mom did make it a point to suddenly, and non so subtly question Rebecca about her involvement with the Mox's usual... business.
I was a bit baffled by how relieved I felt when she replied in the negative.
The suddenness of it all did make the air a slight bit awkward for a while but thankfully Rebecca didn't take the question too badly, going as far as to send me some teasing messages during the whole thing.
Ultimately though, both Misty and Rebecca had to leave and accepted my offer of transportation as they did.
I was hesitant to leave but a quick internal conversation with Misty made it clear I needed some advice from someone far more experienced in these matters than I was.
Which meant it was time to pay Vik a visit.
---
"Thanks for the ride, Mike! I'll call you later." Rebecca chirped, hopping up and giving me a quick peck before running off back into the pile of rust that surrounded her and her team's safehouse.
I was surprised she made no comment about my lack of... features even once, so much so I ended up staring after her for much longer than intended.
Only when Misty loudly cleared her throat did I blink away "Sorry."
"Oh I don't mind." She chuckled "I'm happy you found someone who accepts you for who you are."
Closing my eyes at my exact feelings being pointed out I shook my head "You always know exactly what to say, don't you?"
"It's a talent." She smirked, but then her posture slumped slightly, and she turned serious "We best get going to Vik's. 'Lana is starting to worry me."
"She will be fine." I ground out even as I started the engine.
She had to be.
---
The veteran Ripperdoc was at first quite cheerful when the two of us arrived.
That all turned upside down as Misty recounted the day's events and the man began nervously tapping his arm against his table halfway through the conversation.
Which only made me start tapping my foot like the nervous wreck I was as well.
Vik exhaled as Misty finished, leaning back into his seat before offering his concise commentary on the whole thing "Fuck."
"Fuck is putting it mildly." I scoffed bitterly "You got any advice for me Vik?"
For a moment he looked hesitant to give me his real answer, but he quickly shoved that down "Did you check for any rejection?" He began listing almost automatically "Incompatibility? Software issues? Damage in the nerve implants? Is she taking her medication on schedule?"
"Of course I checked." I did my utmost not to snap the words out "Everything is in perfect order, Vik, you know I don't half ass my work."
"I know, kid." He exhaled "Just making sure."
Absently nodding along, I passed my hand along my smooth head under a reflex I did not even know I had "I know she is still mostly fine, and that I am probably overreacting. But how long will that last? How long until she can't pretend everything is perfectly fine anymore and something cracks?"
"Her situation is unique." Vik spoke up after a moment of deep consideration, unable to hide the morbid bafflement from his voice "She is one of the rare few people in this city with that much chrome that isn't dealing with cyberpsychosis but its more natural cousin."
"What?" The fuck "That makes absolutely no sense."
"Process of elimination, Mike." Viktor Vektor pointed out the obvious "Cyberpsychosis is simply normal psychosis exacerbated by the use of cyberware. You know this much." He pointed at me "And if your work is as perfect as you claim, then that means the issue is more natural."
"Well yes, but-"
"Did you think trauma wasn't a thing before we started replacing parts of ourselves with metal?" He interrupted me "You can't keep pretending you don't know what I am talking about. This isn't something you can just fix, Mike."
"So what the fuck do I do?!" I stood up, hands clutching at the air futilely.
"Exactly what you've been doing so far." He answers simply, leaving me flat footed "We've been over this. This isn't something that can just be gotten over. You have to give her time, as much time as you can get her where her trauma doesn't have any reasons to flare up."
"I can't just lock her up, Vik!" I snapped back.
He didn't so much as twitch at my raised voice, or the subtle threat in my posture "I know, kid. I know." He breathed out "But short of wiping her memory all you can do is give her time, probably years of it."
"Don't even think about suggesting a brain wipe unironically." I nearly growled, mostly at the tiny part of myself that was tempted by the idea, if only as the final option.
"Just pointing the 'next best' option out." He scoffed "Not much else I can do beside that. Well, except one thing that I thought was supposed to be pretty damned obvious."
My neck snapped in his direction so fast I heard my spine creak.
"Trust your mother." Vik admonished with narrowed eyes "She is stronger than you think, and has been through hell. She is the one recovering, not you."
He pointed at me as I went to respond, cutting me off "I know you have only the best of intentions in mind, but she needs your support, kid. Not your oversight."
"Right." I nodded, looking down to hide my shame and no doubt failing.
I clutched my hand into a fist and looked back up at him with what I hoped was determination in my eyes "I guess I'll just have to make sure she has everything she will ever need to recover fully." I looked at the blonde next to me "Can I keep counting on your help, Misty?"
"Of course." She answered with a small reassuring smile.
"Good." I nodded for a few moments "Good." I repeated, and straightened my back "Thank you for your help, both of you."
"Sure thing, kid." Vik snorted, looking me over "You look like you need a drink."
"Yeah..." I exhaled sharply "I could go for a beer."
We spent the next hour in much less panicked discussion, as both Vik and Misty coached me in exactly what not to do from now on.
I did not enjoy the realization that my constant walking on eggshells around her most likely only made things worse, but instead of panicking like an idiot I did the reasonable thing, and swore I would be and do better.
---
My resolve was tested the moment I arrived back home around midday, and I found the apartment had completely transformed in the few hours I was gone.
Most of the furniture was covered up, and my mother was currently humming a tune while painting the walls in a relatively pleasant beige color, the news on the television behind her talking about some inane new fashion trend I found I was physically incapable of registering even if I wanted to.
Immediately, I felt my worry spiking at the sight of her and for a moment I was greatly tempted to tell her to rest up due to everything that happened earlier.
But Vik's lesson replayed in my head, and I understood that sometimes pretending everything was fine until it actually became fine was the only way to move forward.
I utterly despised pretending, it disgusted me, and doubly so when it concerned family, but I smiled and waved at her greeting despite it, and immediately began helping her with her redecoration.
The suspicious looks she kept sending me for nearly an hour stung a bit but after a while she ended up relaxing and we spent the rest of the day finishing up the room's new look, leaving the apartment looking almost unrecognizable.
I returned to my workshop feeling paradoxically both lighter and heavier, and whiled the remaining hour away as I worked on my next implant project and chatted with Rebecca on my Agent.
Time passed at a crawl, but despite it morning arrived in an inevitable blink, and with it my meeting with Rogue's team.
Here is to hoping planning the demise of a bunch of corpos will serve as a good enough distraction.
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