Neo could hear her voice faintly through the comm before the line cut. "Wait there. I'm coming down."
He barely had time to lower his phone before the front door swung open.
Lucy was already there, breathing lightly, cheeks flushed—not just from the sprint down the stairs.
Neo raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to run. I wasn't going anywhere."
Lucy shot him a look that was half annoyance, half fondness. "You show up out of nowhere and expect me to walk?"
The blush on her face deepened as she caught his amused gaze. Maybe it was the rush downstairs. Or maybe it was him.
Neo nudged a pebble with his boot. "Just came from Afterlife. Talked business with Dexter DeShawn."
"Business?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. But the drinks there weren't half as good as the ones in your fridge."
Lucy's eyes narrowed playfully. "You're a terrible liar."
"I'm honest enough to admit I prefer your company," he said.
She sighed, turning toward the entrance. "Fine. Come on up, then. I'll pour you something actually worth drinking."
"Don't have to tell me twice."
…
They climbed the stairs together, wordless this time.
The last time Neo had been here, Lucy had teased him between steps—light words, a flash of a smirk, the kind of easy charm that made her both dangerous and intoxicating.
Now, she was quiet.
Her silence wasn't cold; it was heavier—like she was holding something in, waiting for the right moment to let it spill.
At her door, the lock scanned her retina and hissed open.
"Come in," she said softly.
Neo followed, closing the door behind him. The apartment looked much the same—neat but lived-in, filled with the faint hum of old tech and the warmth of one person trying to survive the world.
Lucy moved to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of chilled rum, and grabbed two glasses.
"Rum?" Neo asked, taking a seat on the couch. "Didn't you only have beer last time?"
She poured the drinks without looking up. "Beer's for noise. Rum's for nights like this."
He smirked. "So you planned this?"
"Maybe I did," she said, handing him a glass. "Maybe I didn't. Drink."
The first sip burned perfectly—a clean, cold blaze that curled down his throat. For a moment, Neo forgot the city outside, the contracts, the blood, the endless hum of violence.
This—this was peace.
Lucy downed her glass in one smooth motion, then leaned back, cigarette in hand.
Smoke drifted between them, soft and gray.
"So," she said, eyes flicking toward him. "Dexter DeShawn. Afterlife. That means you've taken something big."
Neo didn't answer immediately. He just stared into his glass, then nodded. "Yeah. It's big."
"Dangerous?"
He looked up. Her tone was casual, but her eyes weren't.
Neo didn't lie. "Yeah. Dangerous."
In truth, he wasn't worried for himself. He knew he could get in and out of Konpeki Plaza alive. But nothing was ever perfect. Even the cleanest run could stain red if Arasaka caught wind.
Lucy's lips pressed into a thin line. She looked away, exhaling smoke toward the window.
After a long silence, she said quietly, "If I told you not to go… would you think I'm being ridiculous?"
Neo met her eyes.
Gone was the usual cool detachment. Her face—usually unreadable—was now a mix of conflict and raw, human fear.
"No," he said softly. "I'd think you're being honest."
Lucy took a deep drag from her cigarette and laughed bitterly. "Honest doesn't survive in this city, Neo. You and I both know that."
Her voice softened, cracking just enough for him to hear what she didn't say.
"I just… wish we lived in a different time. Fifty years ago, maybe. When the sky was blue, and people didn't have to carve metal into their skin just to breathe."
She looked at him again—closer now. "Back then, we could've taken our time. I could've told you how I felt… slowly."
She took a step forward.
"But now—"
Another step.
"Now, this is all I've got left to give."
The air between them was electric. Her words hung there, trembling. The distance shrank until he could feel her breath against his skin.
"Neo," she whispered, voice steady now. "I've liked you for a long time. Maybe it was that first job. Or the night I brought you here. Or when we floated through that dream on the moon."
She smiled faintly. "Maybe it was the food in Neo-Kabukichō. I don't know. But tell me, will you be mine?"
Neo blinked, caught off guard.
He hadn't expected Lucy—the usually calculated, quiet netrunner—to lay it all bare like this.
But words were unnecessary.
He answered the only way he could.
He reached out and pulled her close, one arm around her waist, the other behind her neck, and kissed her deeply—tasting the rum on her lips, the smoke, the warmth, the fear, and everything in between.
For a while, the rest of Night City faded. There was only the rhythm of breath and heartbeat, two souls crashing into each other in defiance of the neon chaos outside.
…
Later, lying in the quiet aftermath, Lucy rested against him, eyes half-open, tracing invisible shapes on his chest.
Neo brushed a strand of hair from her face.
"Let's go to the moon," he said suddenly.
She blinked. "What?"
"The real moon," he said, smiling. "Once I finish this job. We'll go there. You, me. I've already saved enough for the trip."
For a moment, she said nothing. Then she smiled, small but real.
"Tonight," she murmured, "don't leave. You came all this way. The least you can do is take something back with you."
Neo's lips curved. "Alright."
The rest was wordless—heat and motion, breath and touch.
…
When Neo woke the next morning, sunlight had barely crept past the blinds.
Lucy was already awake, propped on her elbow, staring at him with that same small, quiet smile.
He raised a brow. "Something on my face?"
"No," she said softly. "I just like looking."
They stayed like that for a while, suspended in the kind of silence that didn't need to be broken.
Eventually, Neo swung his legs out of bed and began dressing.
"Lucy," he said while buttoning his jacket, "no more running gigs on the metro. No more stealing chips."
She tilted her head. "Then what? Sit around and wait for you?"
"Come with me," he said simply.
Her brow furrowed. "Come with you? You mean… your crew? Jackie, Maine, the others? Since when do you even have your own base?"
Neo looked back, grinning faintly. "Since yesterday afternoon. Forgot to mention it."
"Yesterday afternoon?"
He slipped on his coat, voice casual, almost amused. "Yeah, Maelstrom Base"
Lucy blinked, processing that. Then she laughed quietly, shaking her head.