Catching Up

Since the demise of Lex Tooley, the crew had been able to take it easier for a while, minus a few hiccups. The damage done to H10 was going to take a long time to fully repair, but the building itself was still "livable". Since the crew's apartments were the only ones specifically targeted (and blown up), the interim building manager (a NightCorp shell, no doubt) determined that all five edgerunners were an unnecessary liability to the stability of the megablock and evicted them. Thanks to V's kindness and insistence on looking after her newest hotshot crew, they stayed at the Afterlife Hotel until they could each find new accommodations in between working jobs for their new employer; it didn't take long.

It was 8 weeks before Pops' ribs fully healed and he was back in fighting form. That didn't stop him from going on jobs or otherwise causing Vik high blood pressure, but he definitely took a backseat, deferring to Miz to take the lead on his behalf. During his recuperation, with both Miz's and Billy's blessings (and some not-so-gentle nudging), he took Liv up on her offer. They just talked at first. Talking turned into dropping by to see her at the Red Dirt on days when the crew wasn't working. That naturally evolved into dating, which eventually turned into them moving in together. Pops didn't mind keeping the lockup and working out of Watson, but he confessed to Miz that he had desired for some time to make his home outside of the city proper.

As for Miz and Billy, they wasted no time in getting an apartment together across the water in Japantown. V knew enough of Miz's history with the Tyger Claws to call in a favor with Wakako that they be left alone. Wako was happy to oblige on the condition that she be allowed to contract with Miz separately for protection gigs; she already knew what Miz was capable of. V agreed on the condition of the Afterlife being kept in the loop, and Miz agreed on the condition that she was free to accept or deny any jobs offered without question.

You could have knocked Miz over with a feather when Pops asked her to lead the crew while he recovered. Everyone agreed it was the only logical choice, but she still didn't believe she was ready. Thankfully, the crew didn't share her skepticism, and backed her up every step of the way. Thanks to Vik's care, she was even able to help Luca open up about what had happened; in having someone to talk to that truly understood, she was able to work through some of her own demons as well. She helped Luca get set up with the Mox, and he was taken care of from then on, always only a holocall away if Miz ever needed him.

Billy had a few sleepless nights in the weeks following the H10 job, but with Miz's support and a strong focus on training and doing jobs with the crew, he was able to move past it and find peace with his new arm. Vik had committed to 3 days a week with Billy at the old NC Devils gym in Watson. He was a quick study, becoming a competent boxer in his own right; Vik had even considered entering him into some amateur fights. His days off from boxing were covered between Miz schooling him on her own blend of CQB (or just plainly kicking his ass for fun; he didn't mind), Ky drilling him on weapons and combat tactics, and Max training him on cyberware and tech. He was eager, motivated, and he loved every bit of it.

Ky and Max, on word from "Padre" Ibarra, were able to secure a place in the Glen, a swanky loft converted from an industrial office. On days he wasn't doing Afterlife gigs, Ky was still running boosting gigs for El Capitan. Claire, having given up the "death race" lifestyle, also dropped her contacts in his lap if he was ever interested. It was like flies to honey for him, but Max kept him on a tight leash for his own safety and her own sanity.

Max had begun rebuilding her family in Pacifica. She never desired to be as big or as visible as the Voodoo Boys, but she wanted to provide a safe haven for the remaining VDBs that got out of Dogtown alive, especially now that the war was bleeding into Pacifica itself. There was talk from Night City Hall of just walling off all of Pacifica and being done with it. It wouldn't surprise anyone, so Max wanted to get out as many as she could before then. In her spare time, she had genuinely worked on mending the bridges between her and V. After seeing firsthand how V looked after her people and conducted her affairs, Max had grown to respect her.

The work was steady, the money was good. Everyone was in high spirits. Even though they had moved apart, they were closer than ever, and things were finally looking up.

--

[Six months later]

Pops was sitting at the table in Liv's kitchen, looking out the open window as he took a drag of his cigarette. It was quiet, peaceful, but he missed the sounds of birds singing in the mornings. Since 2063, all avian life within eighteen miles of the city limits had been exterminated by order of the Night City Council to combat frequent outbreaks of avian flu within the city. As sad as it was, that was the way things were done in Night City. Don't try to actually fix the problem, just kill it and bury it. Pops had to scoff at the audacity.

From behind, he felt two arms wrap around his shoulders, and he smiled. Liv leaned in and pecked him on the cheek as she said softly, "Mornin', cowboy."

Pops placed his hand over hers as he answered, "Mornin', cowgirl. I already made coffee."

Liv sighed with relief as she walked over and poured herself a cup, "Mmm, bless you for that."

She pulled up a chair next to Pops and sat down, leaning her head against his shoulder as she took a sip with satisfaction. She playfully grabbed the cigarette from his hand and took a drag, placing it back between his lips. Her brow furrowed as she exhaled, and Pops asked her, "Somethin' wrong?"

She smiled and answered, "No, just thinkin'."

He was curious, "What about?"

Liv looked down at her cup for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully, "These last few months have been amazin'. With you, with Billy and Miz, with everythin'. I couldn't be happier."

Pops knew there was a catch coming as he said, "...but?"

Liv looked up and around the kitchen, "There's a lot o' history in this house. A lot o' sadness over the years. For a time, it was all me an' Billy had. But now that I have you, I feel like a new leaf has been turned over. I feel like it's time for a new beginnin'."

Pops raised an eyebrow as he asked, "You're thinkin' 'bout sellin' the house?"

Liv chuckled and confirmed, "I-I'm thinkin' 'bout sellin' the house. There's nothin' for me here anymore."

Pops shrugged his shoulders, "Well, what can I do to help?"

Liv curled up to him, and he placed his arm around her as she said, "Just keep bein' you."

Pops planted a kiss on her forehead as he said, "Can do, darlin'."

They enjoyed this warm moment in silence until a holocall pinged in Pops' head, followed by Rogue's voice, "Good morning, you old dog..."

Pops smirked as he answered, "Rogue... to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Rogue scoffed, "V has a job for you guys. Sensitive, target's Militech. Interested?"

"Always", Pops answered, "What's the job?"

Rogue shook her head, "Not over comms. You free to stop by this afternoon?"

Pops nodded, "It's a party?"

Rogue laughed, "The more the merrier. 15:00 okay?"

"We'll swing it", Pops confirmed, his HUD currently reading 09:35, "See you then."

Rogue smiled, "You too."

Liv looked up at Pops as she asked, "Afterlife?"

Pops nodded, "Got a job, they want to meet and talk details."

"When?", Liv asked, wondering just how much longer she could keep Pops around.

He saw a sparkle in her eyes as he smiled, "Not for a while."

A cheeky smile crept on Liv's face as she sat up and looked Pops in the eyes, "We, uh... we got time?"

Pops chuckled as he said, "All the time in the world, cowgirl..."

Liv pulled herself over, resting comfortably on Pops' lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He reciprocated, holding her up as he shifted in the chair and worked his hands up and down her back, eliciting a squeal as he picked her up and placed her gently on the kitchen table. She braced her legs around his waist and pulled him in close as she stared in his eyes. He stared back with a burning lust, pulling her flannel shirt open before kissing her again, his hands teasing her bare skin.

--

The radio was playing softly through the apartment, Stan giving his mid-morning rant about the weather and some crisis in Corpo Plaza involving a "cyberpsycho". Not to discredit cyberpsychosis as a genuine illness, but the soft and sheltered residents of the City Center had a bad habit of declaring anything outside of their narrow perspective as such. NCPD and MaxTac didn't care; they were happy to do the bidding of their corpo-rat sponsors for a pat on the head. As long as the eddies kept flowing, everything was dysfunctionally copacetic.

A siren rang outside the window as it passed by, and Miz stirred awake. As she rubbed her eyes, her HUD read 10:33. She turned to find the other side of the bed empty, but the sheets were ruffled. Billy had already left a few hours prior to train with Vik in Watson; he was always careful not to wake her. Not that she would mind. She had gotten use to seeing his face first thing in the morning. Her eyes flashed blue for a second, the window sliding open automatically as a light breeze and the sounds of the city found their way in. The smell of fresh coffee permeated through the apartment as Miz lit her first smoke of the day.

With an exhale, she pulled herself up and out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. As she passed by the entrance of their apartment, she smiled at the small table opposite the door. A large bronze dragon statue doubling as an incense burner formed the centerpiece, catching anyone's eye as soon as they entered, but around the statue were several picture frames. One held the same picture of Pops, Mei, and Miz from the Badlands Dam years ago; it was marked with crease lines from when Tooley's goons had trashed her H10 apartment. Another small frame held a picture of Billy and Miz in front of the Cherry Blossom Market in Japantown; he was holding her from behind and they were both smiling as they looked at one another, surrounded by glowing pink holographic leaves. A third frame held a picture of Billy, Miz, Pops and Liv standing around the bar at the Red Dirt, smiling and holding up drinks. A fourth and final picture frame held a wide shot of the whole crew, plus V and Rogue, standing in front of the bar at the Afterlife, neon sign glowing radiantly in the background.

All of them were fond memories with a story. Miz had never been one for sentiment, maybe just because outside of Pops, she'd closed herself off from anyone else; but Billy had brought out her softer side. She felt safe with him, and because of that she felt safe being more open with the people she cared about. Billy had hit the nail on the head the morning after their first job together; they weren't just a crew, they were a family. As close as you could be in Night City.

Having poured a cup of coffee, Miz took a sip as she turned to look out the window. A familiar song was playing on the radio, and she blushed as she flashed back to the first time she jumped Billy after the Waterfront job. A smile broke across her face as she set the cup down on the window sill. Her hips began to sway with the rhythm as she brought her arms up by her head. Her eyes flashed blue again and the radio's volume increased. It wasn't long before she felt the music pulsing through her entire body as she danced without a care in the world.

She hadn't heard the door open, and turned to find a sweat-drenched Billy leaning against the wall of the entryway, a familiar look of bewilderment on his face that turned into a cheeky smile. Miz didn't stop dancing, biting her bottom lip as she motioned him to her with a finger. He dropped his gym bag and walked over to her before she grabbed him forcefully and guided him back towards the shower. They made short work of tearing each other's clothes off as they moaned between kisses; she marveled in his musk as he picked her up with one arm, putting her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hit the lever to turn on the shower, the hot water running down their bodies as they breathed each other in. Their feral moans trailed out with the music into the open air, and they couldn't have cared less. In that singular moment, all that mattered was each other.

--

Max had a meeting with some old netrunner friends early in the morning for an independent gig, so Ky had been at the lockup working on his Arch. Even with the garage door open, the exhaust fumes were enough to choke on. He coughed lightly, turning his head away from the manifold for a moment to hopefully catch a breath of fresh air. No dice, he was stuck with the fruits of his own labor. The engine growled with a bassy resonance. Their last ride out, he had noticed the engine mounts were vibrating more than normal, and that had him concerned. He had to laugh at himself, as whatever he had tried this morning was making the problem worse, turning his sweet hog into more of a bucking bronco. He half-considered taking a break and replacing the chain drive on Miz's Yaiba; thankfully, saner heads prevailed as he remembered her telling him she would unmercifully feed him his own balls for lunch if he fucked up her bike. Her words, exactly. His valiant efforts thus far had left him feeling less confident than usual.

His current crisis was interrupted by a holocall from Pops. With a smile of relief, he answered, "Mornin', Rancho Poppo!"

Pops groaned before he answered, "Mornin', Ky. How's it hangin'?"

"Little to the left", Ky quipped, preempting another groan from Pops, "and that's not a euphemism this time. Arch's been bucking like a bitch in heat, so while Max is out wreaking havoc on the Net with her friends, I'm trying to get ahead of dropping my bike the next time I take it out."

Pops joked before asking sincerely, "Much fun as that'd be to watch, you need a hand?"

Ky laughed as he answered, "Never say no to another set of hands or eyes, but I'll figure something out. It's a matter of my pride at this point more than it is actually fixing the bike."

Pops chuckled, "Heaven forbid."

Ky was getting frustrated at himself, "Enough on that, what's up?"

"Got a job from Rogue on behalf of V", Pops took the hint, "Wants to meet and discuss particulars at 15:00; Afterlife."

Good news as far as Ky was concerned, his HUD reading 11:27, "I'll be here. Max should be back by then, too."

"Copy that, I'll call Miz and make sure we got a full house", Pops confirmed before he said, "And Ky? Check the shocks under the seat."

The call dropped, leaving Ky beside himself as he said, "It canNOT be that fucking simple."

It was that fucking simple.

--

Billy was splayed out on the couch, Miz straddling him as they both lay together trying to catch their breath and giggling with bliss. Billy was playfully scratching the shaved side of Miz's head as she was running her fingers up and down the muscle lines of his torso and listening to his heartbeat. She loved that sound. The couch cushions were soaked through at this point from the residual water running off both of their bodies.

Miz's body was contracting, a slight but satisfied ache in her gut as she looked up at Billy and said shakily between breaths, "N-not bad at all, Tiger. Vik put you through the wringer, huh?"

Billy smiled as he looked down, meeting Miz's eyes as he answered, "No more pads; we're actually sparring against each other now. Have been for the last couple of weeks."

Miz was excited to hear this. That meant Vik actually thought he was ready. She was curious, "H-how'd you do?"

Billy laughed, "Vik's a mad trash-talker, man. But I got a few solid hits in on him. Kept it to body shots though. Didn't want to mess up that pretty face he's got."

Miz giggled as she perched up on her arms on top of him like a cat. He probably wouldn't have minded a cute little tail; hell, they made toys for that. Miz and Billy had pointed and laughed at a shop selling them on Jig-Jig Street when she took him to meet Wakako a few weeks back.

He admired her in this position. Her arms were squeezing her breasts together, her back was slightly arched, and she just looked ripe for the taking.

Miz's eyes lit up orange, a holocall pinging from Pops. She didn't move a muscle as she answered, "Heya Pops."

He answered, "Heya kiddo. You free this afternoon?"

"Should be", Miz nodded, "We got a job?"

Pops continued, "Yeah, Rogue called it in a few hours ago on behalf of V. Wants to meet at 15:00 to discuss."

Miz checked her HUD, it read 12:30. He was usually quicker to spread the word than that. She egged him on, "Few hours, huh? What took ya so long?"

A gruff chuckle sounded before he asked, "You can let Billy know or do I need to call?"

Miz giggled, "I'll fill him in, he's right here. Says to say hi to Liv."

"Uh huh, so you've had a good mornin', then", Pops smirked, "And how do you know Liv's around?"

Miz fired back playfully, "Never said I did, but I do now."

On Pops' end, Liv was sitting at the edge of the bed, leaning back with one leg propped up as she buttoned up her shirt. Pops caught sight of this and wagged his finger no with a smirk.

Miz kept pressing him, "You sound busy, Pops. Get back to that and we'll see ya later. Love you."

Pops laughed as he answered, "Love you too, Em."

Miz poked Billy's nose, his eyes closed, to make sure he was awake as she said, "We got a job."

Billy asked softly, eyes still closed, "Hmm... when do we meet?"

Miz answered him, "15:00. Usual spot. Rogue called this one in."

Billy chuckled, "She's just trying to chat up Pops, is all. So we got a few hours, then?"

Miz coyly answered as she shifted back and forth on top of him, "Yeah...?"

In an instant, his eyes were open and he sat upright, pulling Miz to him as he said, "Perfect."

She giggled and said, "Careful, Tiger. You already did me in. We go again, you might have to carry me to the Afterlife."

"Oh I'm good for that", Billy joked before rolling on his side and turning Miz over. He pressed into her backside as he whispered in her ear, "Or I can just be really gentle this time."

She turned her head to look in his eyes as she smiled and said, "Don't you dare go easy on me."

He smiled back with a light growl.

--

Max already knew where Ky would be as she crossed the street towards the lockup. She smiled as she saw the garage door opened halfway, the clank of metal tools ringing out. As she ducked under the door, she knocked gently and said, "Es'cuse me, I t'ink I nee' a tune-up."

Ky was focused on organizing his tool bench, but a smile crept on his face as he looked up. Max eyed him longingly. She always enjoyed seeing him covered in grease with his arms flexed from working on his bike, or cleaning his weapons, or anything else he liked to indulge in that left him dirty. She walked over to him as he tried to wipe his hands clean and said, "Ah ah ah, you know I like de grease on you' hands."

He chuckled as he turned to face her and dropped the rag on his bench. She reached up and kissed him, her hands running down his torso. He smiled and asked, "How'd it go this morning, babe?"

She nodded in affirmation, "Wen' well; was good ta see de girls. Dey say bonjou."

Ky nodded, Max continued, "You make any pwogress on de bike?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, Pops gave me an idea when he called. Bike should be roadworthy now."

Max's head cocked in curiosity, "Ooh, we go' a job?"

Ky answered, "Yeah, Rogue wants to meet at 15:00 to discuss."

Max pulled away from Ky as she turned and walked towards the bike. Ky wasn't sure how to read that. He knew she and V had been doing better, but he wasn't going to press it. To his surprise, Max's next words were, "Jus' enough time ta blow off some steam, den. Mebbe a shower afta'?"

Ky looked to find Max straddling the bike as she arched her back up and looked to him with a devilish smile. She began to unzip her form-fitting netrunner suit, revealing the long line of her neck leading down her back.

Ky nearly tripped over a toolbox as he ran to her. She scooted forward on the seat and he joined her, pressing into her from behind as his lips met her collarbone. She reached up and pulled the suit down off her shoulders, exposing her breasts as she moaned lightly and reached back to feel him. His hands wrapped around as he groped her, and she pressed her body back into his. As she stepped onto the highway bars and leaned forward, arching her back, he pulled the suit down just far enough, her bare cheeks wiggling back and forth as she shifted left to right in front of his face. She looked back to him and nearly growled as she said, "Ge' in d'ere, papi."

His mouth watering with a smile, he buried his face in and tasted all of her, his fingers spreading her wide as she cried out in pleasure and gripped the handlebars. When he'd had his fill, he unzipped and pulled down his pants, exposing himself fully erect, and she gently lowered herself onto him and began to ride, her legs flexing as she bounced up and down. His hands gripped her waist and he guided her, every thrust eliciting more cries as he called out to her in ecstasy.

The garage door was still open, and in that moment they absolutely didn't fucking care.

--