You’ve spent dozens of hours tearing through Night City, flatlining Maelstrom gangers and dodging MaxTac, but honestly, the most stressful part of Cyberpunk 2077 for a lot of people is just trying to get a text back. Specifically, that one text. The one that starts the I Really Want to Stay at Your House mission. It’s the quest that finally lets V take a breather and spend some quality time with their romantic partner, whether that’s Panam, Judy, River, or Kerry. But here’s the thing: it’s surprisingly finicky.
If you’re sitting in your H10 megabuilding apartment staring at your phone like a rejected teenager, you aren't alone. CD Projekt Red added this repeatable quest in the 2.1 update to satisfy the "romance-starved" players who felt like their partners disappeared after the main storylines ended. It's basically a domestic simulator within a high-octane RPG.
Why it isn't showing up yet
First off, you can't just walk up to Judy’s apartment and demand a sleepover. The I Really Want to Stay at Your House mission only triggers once you’ve fully locked in a romance. That means finishing the entire quest chain for your chosen partner. For Panam, it’s Queen of the Highway. For Judy, it’s Pyramid Song. If you haven't finished those, V is still technically just "good friends" (or a coworker) in the game's eyes.
Wait.
Wait some more.
Even after the credits for those specific quests roll, the game needs "game time" to pass. We’re talking about two to three in-game days. Try skipping time in the menu, but honestly, it’s better to just go do a NCPD scanner hustle or a quick gig. Once the internal clock hits the right mark, you’ll get a text message from your partner. It’s usually something cheesy or sweet. They’ll ask to hang out at one of your apartments. That is the literal start of the quest. If you ignore the text, the quest won't stay in your journal forever; you actually have to reply to kick it off.
Picking the right spot for the hangouts
You have a choice here. You don’t have to stay at the cramped H10 apartment. If you’ve spent your eddies on the North Oak palatial suite or the Glen loft, you can host them there.
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When you reply to the text, the game gives you a mission marker to "Go to your apartment." Here is a nuance: if you have multiple apartments, you need to go to the one you actually want to hang out in before the partner arrives. You select the location during the text conversation.
The I Really Want to Stay at Your House mission isn't just a cutscene. It’s a series of "interactables." You can sit on the couch and cuddle. You can look in the mirror together. You can even shower together, which, let's be real, is what most people were asking for. It’s a loop. You hang out, you sleep, and when you wake up, they’re still there for a bit before the quest technically "completes."
The 2-day cooldown cycle
This is where people get confused. They finish the mission once and then wonder why they can't do it again immediately. CDPR built in a cooldown. You have to wait roughly 48 hours in-game before the option pops up again.
Don't spam the "Skip Time" button 24 times in a row. Sometimes that bugs the script out. It’s much more reliable to go do a side mission, let a day pass, sleep in a bed, and then check your messages. It’s a repeatable quest, meaning it will stay in your "completed" log but will reappear in your active "side jobs" every couple of days for the rest of the game.
What about the "Edgerunners" connection?
The quest title itself is a massive nod to the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime. If you’ve seen the show, you know the song "I Really Want to Stay at Your House" by Rosa Walton is the emotional gut-punch of the finale. Using it as the name for the romance quest was a deliberate move to give fans a bit of the "happy ending" that David and Lucy never got. It turns a tragic anthem into a cozy gameplay mechanic.
Interestingly, the mission doesn't actually play the song on a loop while you’re hanging out. You have to turn on the radio yourself if you want that specific vibe. It’s a small detail, but for the lore-hounds, it’s a big deal.
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Common bugs and how to fix them
If you’ve done everything right—finished the romance, waited three days, checked your phone—and it still won't trigger, you might be stuck in a "state conflict." This happens if you have another major story mission active that involves that specific NPC. For example, if you’re in the middle of a late-game mission where Panam is waiting for you at a camp, she’s not going to text you to come hang out at your apartment. The game's logic prioritizes "World State" over "Social State."
- Clear your active quest log of any missions involving your partner.
- Travel to a different district (like going from Heywood to Pacifica) to force a cell tower refresh in the game's code.
- Save and reload the game. It sounds cliché, but for Cyberpunk 2077, it still solves about 90% of script hang-ups.
Some players have reported that the quest won't trigger if you're currently "tracked" by the police. Make sure your wanted level is zero.
Does it affect the ending?
Strictly speaking, no. Participating in the I Really Want to Stay at Your House mission multiple times doesn't change the outcome of the Hanako at Embers decision. It won't give you a secret ending or change the dialogue in the finale. What it does do, however, is provide a persistent buff.
When you sleep in your apartment while your partner is there, you get the "Stayed Up" buff, which is a beefed-up version of the standard "Rested" buff. It gives you a boost to Skill XP gain. It’s a practical reason to keep doing these hangouts besides just the role-playing aspect.
Nuances of the different partners
Every partner reacts a little differently. Kerry might be more laid back, while Judy feels a bit more domestic. The animations are largely shared, but the dialogue snippets you get while sitting on the couch are unique to each character's personality.
If you're playing a version of V that has somehow managed to "romance" multiple people through mods or very specific quest timing (though the base game usually locks you into one based on your body type and voice), the game can get a bit wonky. Stick to one partner at a time to avoid the quest logic breaking.
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Making the most of the hangout
Don't just rush through the prompts. The beauty of the I Really Want to Stay at Your House mission is the atmosphere.
- Use the photo mode. The lighting in the Glen and North Oak apartments is top-tier for taking shots of V and their partner.
- Check the different apartments. Each one has different "interaction points." The shower in the Glen loft looks way different than the one in H10.
- Listen to the dialogue. There are small lines of flavor text that only trigger during these hangouts.
If you’re looking for a deep, narrative-heavy expansion, this isn't it. It’s a "slice of life" addition. It’s about making Night City feel a little less lonely and a little more like a place V actually lives, rather than just a place they're dying in.
Actionable Steps to Trigger the Mission Now
If you want to see your partner right now, follow this exact sequence:
- Confirm Quest Completion: Open your journal and ensure the final romance quest (Queen of the Highway, Pyramid Song, Every Breath You Take, or The Hunt) is in the "Completed" section.
- Clear the Area: Move V to a neutral location, like a random street corner away from any mission markers.
- The Time Jump: Open the menu and skip time by 24 hours. Do this twice.
- Manual Save/Load: Save your game, then immediately load that save. This often "pokes" the messenger system to send pending texts.
- Check the Phone: Open your messages. Look for a new thread from your partner. If you see a text that doesn't have a reply option yet, wait another 10 minutes of real-time play.
Once the "I'd love to have you over" or "See you soon" text is sent, the mission will appear in your Side Jobs. Select the apartment you want, head over there, and use the intercom or door to let them in.
Remember, the quest stays active until you "finish" the hangout by leaving the apartment or sleeping. If you want to maximize the time, just don't go to sleep; you can have your partner stay in your apartment indefinitely while you go out and do other missions, though they won't do much other than lean against the furniture.