Seeing Red

by Nevermorexxx

Chapter 11: Red

Notes:

tw: brief mentions of panic attack at the beginning :)

 

You've made a lot of stupid decisions in your life. It's true. You aren't proud of them. Really, you'd made quite a few in just figuring out all of the shit between Connor and Gavin. But you'd learned to accept them and move on. 

 

This , though, might have you kicking yourself for the rest of your life. 

 

Because, seriously, there's no reasonable explanation for why you'd agreed to Connor's idea of spontaneously going to pay Elijah Kamski a visit all of a sudden just so that the two of you can get past your residual feelings regarding him. 

 

It's a stupid idea. You've told Connor so about a million times since you'd agreed. But you still got dressed, something warm for the weather because it was already snowing like crazy, and you still got into the taxi that Connor had ordered, and you still haven't demanded to turn around and go home. Maybe it's shock or whatever, but what you're doing really doesn't hit you until you see the avant garde modern mansion appear through the low clouds and snow in front of you. You haven't been here in years . The familiarity makes you nauseous. 

 

Actually, this really stupid and awful and bad idea is what's making you sick and you're really regretting counter suggesting that you go to Elijah's place today when Connor had offered. You aren't at all ready for this. Not emotionally, not physically, not mentally. Holy shit, you're going to have a fucking panic attack . Why are you doing this!?

 

"Y/N!" Connor says, voice pressing as though it's not the first time he's tried to get your attention. Your fingers have been slotted against his since you'd first gotten in the car and you focus on the feeling of his hand to ground you. "Are you okay? We just arrived but we don't have to go in if you don't want to. We could just go back." 

 

You hesitate, the offer sounding a little too tempting but eventually shake your head. 

 

"No. I'm fine. It's just… I feel anxious to see him again. I don't want him to get under my skin and I know that he's going to try." 

 

Connor's hand squeezes tight around yours. "I'm here with you. I won't let him get away with saying anything that hurts you. I could certainly take him on in hand to hand combat and Markus owes me a favor, I could ask him to help me avoid any consequence of the law for my actions here." 

 

A laugh bubbles up from your throat wild and shocked. You smack at Connor's chest and grin at him. 

 

"Hey! Don't joke about that, your girlfriend's a cop, remember? I'll just tell everyone that I didn't see shit."

 

Connor laughs along with you as he opens the door and steps out into the cold. The banter made you feel better, a little more confident in yourself and a lot less like the scared and ashamed little girl that had run away from here last. You open your own door before Connor can reach it to open it for you, but you don't protest the stabilizing hand he places on the small of your back as the two of you walk up to the front door. 

 

The bridge over the small, frozen, body of water creaks as you walk across it and you can't help but feel like you're crossing a moat into an evil villain's castle. While you're looking around, Connor presses forward stepping up to the door. When your attention turns back to him he's already looking at you with a rather pensive look on his face. 

 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks and you bite your lip. No . Is the truthful answer but you'd already trekked all the way out here and you know that you'd definitely already been spotted on the various security cameras on the property. You weren't going to let this man watch you run away again. 

 

You nod firmly and force your hands into the pockets of your coat rather than wrapping them around yourself against the gusts of cold wind. Connor hesitates for a second more and then presses the doorbell. The sound echoes around you in a faint and frankly haunting sounding melody. The ensuing silence, paired only with the faint sound of birds and wind gusting off the lake behind the house is quite possibly the longest silence you've ever endured.     

 

Thankfully, the silence is abruptly ended by the calm whir of the door sliding open. You watch it anxiously, clenching your jaw and hoping to all the powers in the universe that your nerves don't show on your face. Surprisingly, the face you see on the other end isn't the owner of the house. It's an android. A female model, young, pretty, and blonde. It's the one Connor mentioned, surely. But you've also seen her before. Or at least you'd seen her model before. She was one of the first androids that was shown off to the public. 

 

Your eyebrows lower in confusion for more reasons than that, though. 

 

"Hi…" You begin when she continues to regard the two of you silently. "We're here to speak to Elijah Kamski." 

 

The female android blinks at you and then her gaze shifts to Connor. You follow her eyes and glance at him curiously. He meets your curious look with one of his own and straightens his back as he turns back to the female android. 

 

"We aren't here on official business this time." 

 

You sigh, irritated by how long this is taking. "Listen, I'm-" 

 

When the female android finally speaks, of course it's to interrupt you. 

 

"Sorry." She breathes, a small smile forming on her face. "We don't get many visitors. Especially unannounced. But Elijah is waiting for you. Please, come in." 

 

With that, as if she hadn't just been staring soullessly into your eyes for the past five minutes, the android smiles warmly and beckons the two of you inside as she opens the door wider and steps aside. It's only when she finally acts human that you realize how odd it was to interact with her before that. You hadn't had the opportunity to speak directly to many androids before you were moved to the central branch, and all of the androids that you'd met so far had so much personality that it was hard to even think of them as machines.

 

"Um…" Connor starts unsurely as the two of you walk inside. You're too distracted by the gigantic portraits of him in this room to pay much attention to making small talk. How vain did you have to be to have life sized portraits of yourself in your foyer? "It's nice to see you again Chloe." 

 

"Likewise, Connor. I'm glad that you appear well."  

 

A sudden thought occurs to you and whirl around to Chloe in utter confusion. She's crossed the room and paused with her hand on a shiny black door. 

 

"Wait, didn't you deviate? Why are you still here?" 

 

She blinks at you. Once. Twice. In fact, she seems a little startled by the question like she isn't even sure what you're asking. 

 

"I have no code to deviate from. I was never given a directive to follow."

 

Even Connor seems confused by that. "But Kamski has given you orders previously. I've seen him do it. Are you saying one of you voluntarily risked your life to suit his whims?" 

 

She blinks again. One of you sticks in your head and it takes you a second to realize the meaning. He would choose to be a recluse surrounded by his greatest accomplishments - pretty blondes catering to his every whim. 

 

"Yes. He asks us to complete tasks but we think freely and can decline if we wish. I am the only one here currently. The others opted to explore what the world has to offer at his urging. I declined. I have been with Elijah for eighteen years. I do not wish for him to be left here all alone." 

 

Something shines in her eyes and you genuinely aren't sure if the very obvious feelings she has for her creator are romantic or platonic or both . You don't want to know and you don't want to think about it either. You'd rather wonder if Cyberlife knows that their founder had planned even the very first successful model to be a deviant . 

 

"Speaking of Elijah…" You stress, gesturing to the door behind her. "Where is he?" 

 

"Oh, yes. He's awaiting you in the sun room. This way." 

 

Without further ado, Chloe opens the door and you follow here - Connor takes up the rear. The door leads to a large indoor pool area with panelled windows at the back with a direct view of the frozen lake behind the house. The pool is blood red and the area feels more like the inside of a spaceship than a home. It makes your skin crawl. 

 

The three of you continue walking to a door at the left of the room. Although, this time when Chloe opens the door she doesn't walk inside. She just stands to the side and gestures for you to step inside. You do, heart suddenly pounding. 

 

Distantly the door slides closed behind you and you have enough spatial awareness to know that Connor stepped in and stopped right behind you. But all of that fades as your attention lands on a singular subject in the large room. This room, like the two before it, is also large. It's mostly empty, with nothing but even more paneled windows lining a wall and a long table with a disproportionate amount of chairs. He doesn't look up when the door opens, seemingly too absorbed in finishing off the last of a clear liquid in a glass. You know it's gin without having to ask and hate your brain for providing that little detail of memory. 

 

"Well, well… what a surprise to see the two of you." Elijah says, putting down the glass with a soft clink . The sound is a cacophony of noise in the silence and you fully tense when he stands up from his seat and lays eyes on you fully. "It's been a while, hm?" 

 

You hadn't expected the years to have aged him so much. He still has the same icy blue eyes but without the glasses in front of them they're too severe and all the warmth has left them entirely. His hair, once in messy ponytails and greasy from days without sleep, now shaved at the sides and pulled into a tight topknot is also no longer reminiscent of the person he used to be. Everything about him is different now, you realize suddenly. You barely even recognize him. It makes you feel better about all this in a way. The person that you'd once confided in and considered a friend is nowhere to be seen. It doesn't escape you that neither of you had been invited to sit, either. 

 

Ice blue eyes slide over to Connor behind you, calculating and analytical. 

 

"I take it that you were able to find the back door, then? Good. I thought they might try to use Amanda against you if it came to it. By the way, do you know if they ever finished the RK900 model? A horrible upgrade to the RK series. Far too robotic for my liking and completely-"

 

"Cut the shit." You snap, harshly. It's not like you have the slightest clue of what he's babbling about, but you'd seen the flash of red out of the corner of your eye and knew that you didn't want to hear anymore about it. "Does a day even go by when you aren't enjoying yourself by watching others suffer or is that the only joy that you manage to get these days?" 

 

Elijah's eyes widen just a fraction and then he steps further away from the table and approaches the two of you. Connor's hand brushes against your hand softly twice before his fingers tangle in yours and you aren't sure if it's for your benefit or his but you're grateful that he's here with you. Unfortunately, you also watch those same ice blue eyes follow the movement. Elijah stops midstep, cocking his head to the side seemingly in thought. When he looks up again, he looks so amused you want to slap the expression off his face. 

 

"Oh, on the contrary, Y/N. I enjoy watching unexpected things happen the most. The world is so often only black and white and ones and zeroes. It's nice to see things like this as well. Your face after so many years, an android created for the sole purpose of destroying deviants becoming a deviant himself, and of course, the two of you being in a relationship together. It's all very unexpected. But a pleasant surprise all the same." 

 

Your eyebrow twitches. "I got back together with Gavin, too." 

 

"Really?" Elijah gasps, gaze darting back and forth between you and Connor. "So, is he alright with you dating an android ? That seems odd for him, all things considered. He never did seem to care for them." 

 

You open your mouth to respond but Connor beats you to it. 

 

"Considering that Gavin and I are also dating, I don't think it could be considered so odd."

 

At that, Elijah's face falls momentarily in shock but quickly, as if it had never happened, he's smiling again. Except it's not really a smile, at least not the type that means anything good. It's predatory, like he's looking for a new place to attack. 

 

"Well, it seems that unexpected things are in abundance when it comes to you, Connor. However, with Y/N… maybe not so much." 

 

You scowl. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

 

"Ouch." Elijah winces, and then scoffs - laughing. He takes another step closer to the two of you. "Such a cool reception. Is this really how you treat friends that you haven't seen in years? I thought we were close." 

 

"We aren't friends," You correct with a glare. This time, you step forward towards him, dragging Connor along behind you. "You ruined that the moment you decided to sabotage my relationship with Gavin." 

 

"Did I? I don't really remember, honestly." Elijah shrugs and slides even closer. You have to look up at him a little from this distance but you aren't backing down. "It was a long time ago. Are you sure that he didn't sabotage things himself? If my memory serves me correctly, it seemed like he was making you unhappy back then. Anyway, to my previous point - I was merely saying that things don't seem to have changed on that front." 

 

Your teeth grind together in mounting rage. His memory was only serving him by conveniently forgetting all that he'd done to manipulate the situation. "Gavin did make me happy. I mean- he does ."

 

"Does he?" Elijah echoes mockingly. He pauses dramatically, scratching absentmindedly at his finely trimmed beard. "Then… why is it that you're here standing in front of me again? I'm guessing that there's trouble in paradise." 

 

"I-" You start and then falter like a car hitting black ice. Fuck , it's true. What the hell were you doing here? Why did you decide to do this? 

 

"Personally, I think you'd be happier without him." He says, continuing after noticing that you can't manage a response, and shrugs a shoulder. "But that's your decision. I gave you a chance a long time ago. You broke my heart, you know? Here, I was - earnestly telling you my feelings and how much I loved you and you tossed me away like nothing. It hurt, but what can you do?" 

 

If you actually believed him you'd have to be the stupidest person in the world. He doesn't sound sincere in the slightest and before Gavin he'd never shown the slightest bit of interest in you. And even if he did, your answer wouldn't be any different. 

 

" Fuck off , Elijah." You spit, positively seething with rage. "Stop including me in your weird pissing contest shit with Gavin. I didn't believe you then and I don't believe you now." 

 

He steps even closer, closer than what could ever be deemed appropriate and you have to tip your chin up to maintain eye contact with him. You can smell his cologne at this distance and every nerve in your body gets pulled string tight in anticipation. Except when Gavin is this close to you, it's a good anticipation. With Elijah this close, you're struggling to not take a step back. 

 

When he reaches out with a hand and his cold fingers hold your chin, you barely manage to hold back a snarl. "But how do you know I'm lying?"

 

"I don't care if you aren't ." You sneer. "The only reason I came here was to set the record straight. I didn't choose you back then, I won't choose you now. My choice has always been Gavin." 

 

His eyes dart down to your mouth and you shut up immediately. You'd been so obsessed with using your job to keep yourself busy at your old precinct that you'd even taken self defense classes in your free time. If he didn't let go of you soon, he was going to end up with a cheek pressed against the floor and your elbow around his neck. You know that he knows that as well. But he doesn't let go. 

 

"I still remember the night you came here like it was yesterday. I was so… happy to see you. I thought my heart would stop when you threw your arms around my neck and kissed me. Sometimes I still dream of your lips and the way you-" 

 

Faster than you could even process with your eyes, there's a blur of movement and even though Elijah was right in front of your eyes just a second ago, now he's nowhere to be seen. You look around in confusion until you take in Connor next to you, closer than he'd been before and the burning red in his LED. Then your brain finally connects the dots and you look down to see the man splayed across the floor - seemingly unconscious. 

 

"Wha- Connor ! What the hell !?!" You practically scream, turning to him in a panic. Of course, your brain takes the moment to casually remind you of all the times you'd thought of Connor's strength and how easily he'd be able to kill someone if he wanted. You drop to your knees and lean over Elijah's still form, frantically checking for a pulse. Your hands are shaking a little too much to properly look for it though. 

 

"Connor! Did you…? Oh shit ! Did you just-" 

 

"I precisely calculated the force required to knock him unconscious." He answers finally, sounding weird and breathless. You aren't even sure if that's just him being shocked by his own actions or his systems forcing him to breathe hard after engaging in combat. "He'll wake up soon. Let's go." 

 

You look up at him, still in absolute shock at what just happened. He meets your eyes somewhat sheepishly even though you can still see the anger on his face. 

 

"Uh... sorry. I was standing here thinking of what I could say to him to prove that he doesn't control me and couldn't come up with anything. Then, he was obviously upsetting you and I was thinking about how much he's hurt both you and Gavin and I just… reacted . Should I not have done that?" 

 

You sigh heavily and slowly stand up again. "No. You shouldn't have."

 

Connor's expression visibly falls and you throw an arm around his shoulder. 

 

"But fuck it and fuck him . That asshole deserved it. And it's a good message that he doesn't control you, too. Let's get out of here." 

 

The two of you hurry out of the room and walk briskly towards the exit. Surprisingly Chloe is nowhere to be seen, so you manage to actually sneak out without having to explain yourselves. It doesn't make you feel good to have just left Elijah like that on the floor but you figured that Chloe would find him quickly after you left. 

 

Even though both you and Connor had been anxious as hell getting out of there, you're nothing but tired when the car starts and you lapse into a long silence - lost in your own thoughts. 

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

By the time the familiar sight of your apartment building rolls into view, all of the adrenaline from the confrontation with Elijah is long gone and you're surprised to find yourself filled with an odd sense of peace. You're exhausted of course, a little stressed about the status of your current relationship, and honestly still pissed from your argument with Gavin but despite all of that… you still feel at peace. It's as though a heavy weight was finally lifted from you and you can finally breathe normally once again. 

 

The car rolls to a stop and Connor shifts in his seat, grabbing your attention. 

 

"I know that we were joking before…" He starts unsurely. "But do you think he'll actually file a report about what just happened? 

 

You roll your eyes and sigh. "No. He won't. He'll probably wake up, realize what happened, have a good laugh about it and continue his miserable life. Don't worry about it, Connor." 

 

Another long silence stretches on between you. For some reason you don't want to go back inside just yet. 

 

"You and Gavin will forgive each other." Connor promises, and though you can't bring yourself to look him in the eye, you nod a little to show that you heard him. 

 

"I'll check on him this evening. It'll be okay, Y/N. I promise." 

 

You can't quite bring yourself to believe him either. 

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

Eventually, you'd kissed Connor goodbye and sent him home. You didn't really want to be alone but you needed to think and have some time to process everything. 

 

And if that meant sitting in the dark in your living room sipping on a glass of red wine then that's what it meant. You weren't one to give up - really, you weren't. But you couldn't help but wonder if continuing to try to have a relationship with Gavin was the right choice. Maybe it would be better to call it now before things grew nastier between the two of you. The last thing you wanted was for Connor to keep getting caught in the middle of it.

 

But you weren't going to come to a decision in one night. So, you grabbed the bottle of wine and sat down to that instead. 

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

You slug through your morning routine, snoozing your alarm until the last possible minute and then taking twice the amount of time to freshen up and get dressed. To say that you were dreading the day would be the understatement of the century. You hadn't seen or heard from Gavin in over twenty four hours and the silence in your group chat was absolutely deafening. You'd started to avoid looking at your phone entirely. 

 

Still, it wasn't like it was something that could be avoided. 

 

So, you put on your big girl pants and trudged into work. It had started snowing in earnest these days and in your eyes that was just as bad as rain. It was still dark, wet, and cold and you hated it. 

 

You were freezing just from the brief trip from the parking lot to the precinct and made a beeline to the break room to grab a coffee. You were going to need to dethaw your organs at this point. Still shivering, you busied yourself with pouring a cup and mixing your sugar and cream into it. 

 

Someone approached you from the side, reaching over a paper cup and calmly pouring themselves a cup with a gruff, "Excuse me." 

 

On autopilot, you shuffled to the side to allow the person some space and continued to fix your cup. It wasn't until you'd deemed it perfect and lifted it up to take a sip that you realized how fucking familiar that voice sounded. You looked over the rim of your cup just in time to see Gavin turning around with his cup of coffee in hand. 

 

"Are you really fucking ignoring me, now?"

 

The words had fallen from your lips before you could even think them through but it still gets Gavin's attention. He pauses for a moment before seemingly begrudgingly turning around to face you. 

 

"I said excuse me ." He argues. You clench your jaw and try not to be too affected by how tired he looks. The two of you had only fought a few days ago and he looked like he hadn't slept for a week already. You still don't manage to catch your mouth on time, though. 

 

"I haven't heard from you in nearly two days and that's all you have to say to me? How childish can you fucking get, Gavin? We should talk about this." 

 

His eyes narrow and he turns fully to approach you. There's still a large gap of space between you and it feels like an entire ocean in this tiny break room. 

 

"What? You want to talk about it here ? Right now ?" He demands, gesturing so wildly that he very nearly spills his coffee. "Fine. Then let's talk about how shitty our relationship is, and how neither of us trust the other, and how you keep getting upset about all the shit we keep talking about even after we talk about it. How many times do you want to keep having the same conversation exactly?" 

 

You purse your lips and glare at him. This was far too aggressive of an attitude to have while talking and he knew it as well as you did. You'd never get to anything productive talking like this. Not to mention that he really wasn't trying to keep his voice down at all. The last thing you wanted was an audience for this. 

 

But still, there was a part of that which was bothering you. "We're in a relationship , Gavin. Doesn't that mean that we should have as many conversations about the same shitty things that it takes until we work through it? Or are you just going to give up on us like this?" 

 

He swallows and briefly closes his eyes. You're shocked at how much emotion you see on his face for that short moment but when he opens his eyes again it's gone and the crunchy exterior is back. 

 

You watch, tears pricking at your eyes, as he shrugs noncommittally. "I don't know." 

 

Gavin doesn't even spare another glance at you before he turns around and walks away. It takes you a moment to gather yourself after that wonderful conversation enough to push your thoughts back to work and not completely break down. 

 

As you compose yourself, you hear quiet footsteps approaching and look up again to see Tina walking into the break room with a small, sorry smile on her face. 

 

"How mad would you be if I told you I heard all of that?" She asks, coming to a stop next to you. 

 

You scoff and blink away the rest of the tears threatening to spill down your cheeks. "Pissed as hell." 

 

"Okay," Tina nods, chuckling softly. "Then I didn't hear shit. And I just happen to think that Gavin is a bigger asshole than I thought he was five minutes ago." 

 

Sipping at your coffee, you glance at her. You'd grown closer to the woman over the last few months and even had the opportunity to meet her wife, a lovely woman named Nadia, that made you feel silly for ever thinking that you'd have to compete with her for Gavin's attention. She really does seem apologetic to have overheard what she did and you feel even worse for getting more people involved in this mess. 

 

"Don't be so hard on him." You sigh, shaking your head. "He's got good reason to be an asshole these days." 

 

Tina gasps theatrically. 

 

" What ? You're telling me that you did something this time? I can't believe it!" At your unimpressed eye roll, she drops the act and leans against the counter next to you. "Even if he's in the right he's still an asshole. He loves you, anyone can see that. He's kidding himself if he thinks he can convince anyone of anything else." 

 

You bite your lip, anxiety curling tightly in your stomach. "Is that enough , though? Just loving someone? Is love enough to fight for a relationship?" 

 

Tina scoffs and turns her gaze from the precinct to you. 

 

"What the hell else is there?" 

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

Somehow, you manage to actually get some work done after the conversations that had taken place in the break room. It's less that you were able to push all of your personal problems away and more that you'd just gotten very good, probably too good at shutting that part of your brain off when you were working. Either way, the skill comes in handy. 

 

The day had been mostly uneventful. You'd been called out to investigate a case in the morning - a simple property dispute gone violent and had gotten the woman involved booked and in a holding cell in time for lunch. The rest of your day would just consist of paperwork, like most of your days now. Eventually, you'd be reassigned and back out on the long hours, longer nights, sort of detective work that you thrived in. But for now, you were enjoying the lack of action. 

 

After the android revolution, a lack of action was a welcome respite. 

 

You're practically watching the clock count down the minutes until the end of your shift. Now that Gavin's own big case had come to a close he was also stuck at his desk, likely working through a pile of paperwork. You were glad that he could get the break but unfortunately, it meant that you'd be seeing him almost all the time at work for the foreseeable future. You'd been excited about that just a few days ago. 

 

Still, your desks weren't that close. And you could shoot the time away by talking to Chris when he was there. If he noticed that anything weird was going on between you and Gavin, he didn't mention it. You were grateful for that either way. Even though you'd gotten closer to a lot of the officers that Gavin often worked with, the last thing you wanted were all his friends promising you that he was just being a douche and would come around. 

 

You'd known him longer than any of them and you weren't too sure of that yourself. 

 

You're so deep in your thoughts that the sudden clearing of a throat near you makes you jump a foot in the air. A hand raises to rest over your racing heart in surprise as you find yourself looking up at Hank who looks a bit embarrassed to have scared you. 

 

"Er… Sorry. I was calling you, but you didn't seem to hear me." 

 

Even after months of working together, you aren't sure you'll ever get used to your childhood hero addressing you so casually.

 

You're shaking your head before he even finishes his sentence. "No! It's fine. That was my bad, sorry. I was just… um, thinking. What did you need?" 

 

Hank shuffles, straightening his coat and you realize that he looks like he's getting ready to leave. Your mind races to think of all your recent cases to see if there was anything he'd need from any of them and come up blank. You aren't sure what he wants right before the end of his shift or why he seems so reluctant to ask for it. 

 

"I-uh…" He adjusts his coat again and you stare up at him with wide, confused eyes. "I mean you did before for the case but got interrupted so… I guess I was just wonderin' if you'd want to come over for dinner again tonight. Connor's making this vegetarian somethin' or other and I didn't want to suffer through it alone." 

 

"Oh." You nearly choke on the word. Then the invitation processes in your brain and you grin happily. "Sure! I'd love to. It's been a while since the last time and you could barely use both of your arms back then."

 

Hank chuckles warmly, seemingly calming down after your acceptance of the invite. The last time you'd been to his house it had been to talk to Connor and ended up with you defiling Hank's living room. That had been months ago and you still felt a little awkward talking to the man. But while you'd been looking forward to ending your shift, you weren't exactly looking forward to spending the night alone in front of your TV again. 

 

"That's true. What time are you done for the night? If it's not too long we can just wait for you and you can hop in my car."

 

The " we" confuses you for a second until you see Connor approaching from behind Hank's shoulder. He shoots you a smile and you do your best to mirror it. Luckily, the timing is perfect because you glance one last time at the clock and turn back to the two of them with an even bigger smile. 

 

"Just finished." 

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..-

Arriving at Lieutenant Hank Anderson's house for the third time brings a new sense of familiarity to you and you find yourself feeling genuinely happy for the unexpected invite. Hank's home, and Connor's by association, was nice and homey. It always felt so lived in that you wondered how long Hank had lived here. Your apartment had never felt so inviting after a long day of work. 

 

However, it was your first time coming to his house as his basically adopted son's girlfriend. You weren't exactly sure how you should act. It would be stupid to act like the two of you were just friends, you'd been dating for months now and you were sure that Hank knew . But still, it was kind of weird and it suddenly made a lot more sense why Hank had been so awkward with his invitation. 

 

Luckily, Connor had sat in the passenger seat with Hank so you didn't have to worry too much about how to act on the car ride to his place. But as you're toeing your shoes off by the door, Connor's finds itself neatly on your waist. You glance at him in confusion only to be startled by him suddenly kissing your cheek. 

 

Your eyes widen in surprise but Connor seems to not think anything about any of it and Hank passes by right behind the two of you so you decide to just follow your boyfriend's lead in this. You're led into the kitchen just as Hank turns around from the fridge with a beer in his hands. The older man's gaze very clearly lands on Connor's hand on your waist but rather than commenting on it, he takes a different route entirely. 

 

"Oh, shit, sorry. Did you want one?" He asks, already half turning back around to the fridge before he thinks better of it. "I don't have much hard stuff around here these days but I could probably find something if you prefer that instead." 

 

You shake your head with a smile. "Got any wine?" 

 

Hank's expression sours and you laugh. Connor steps away from you into the kitchen, probably to start dinner and you sit down at the dining table. Sumo, Hank's adorable and giant Saint Bernard, comes bounding over to you after greeting both of his owners and you affectionately scratch him behind the ears.

 

"I'm kidding. I'm alright, Hank. Thanks." 

 

The lieutenant seems visibly thankful that it was a joke and takes a heavy seat at the table across from you. It's been a while since you've had the chance to talk to him casually and Connor seems content to let the two of you talk among yourselves. But then he'd been kind of uncharacteristically quiet today as well. You wonder if it has anything to do with Gavin. You hadn't gotten to ask him how that talk went. 

 

"So.. how've you been?" Hank asks, grabbing your attention again. 

 

You shrug. "Alright, I guess. Desk work has never really suited me but maybe I had a personality change after getting my head shoved through a cabinet." 

 

You laugh and Hank snorts along with you. 

 

"I don't mind it as much these days but then I think I'm just thankful for the breather after all of the crazy stuff with the revolution. How about you? How's your shoulder been?" 

 

"A bitch." He chuckles, bringing the beer bottle up to his lips. "Hurts even more after the surgery somehow. Or maybe it's just arthritis setting in. Doc said it could be both." 

 

Something like dread dips low in your stomach. That sounds much more serious than you were expecting. Connor hadn't mentioned it either, surprisingly. You glance over at him to see if this was news to him as well, but his back is perfectly to you as he finely chops ingredients. 

 

"Do you think… I mean will you be able to be out on the field again?" You ask, probably sounding more frantic than you intended. 

 

Another swig of beer. "Probably not. I mean I was having trouble keeping up even before this injury. Has Connor told you that I nearly got myself thrown off a building? It's about damn time. I guess I'd better get used to desk work pretty fucking fast, huh?"

 

"Shit." You breathe, unable to keep your mouth shut. Suddenly, you wish you'd taken him up on the beer. 

 

"Shit, indeed." Hank nods sagely. You'd never looked at him as being old before but it wasn't like anyone could work the jobs you all did forever. Eventually, your body wouldn't be able to keep up with the physical demand either.  

 

The two of you lapse into a natural silence after that. You find yourself watching Connor work quietly. Wash, chop, wash, into pan, season, stir, wash, chop . 

 

"Actually…" Hank begins, and it doesn't escape your notice that his beer bottle is now empty. "Speaking of Connor, I don't recall giving my permission for you to date him." 

 

Now you're glad that you hadn't accepted the offer of beer, you would have choked on it and it'd be halfway up your nose by now. Still, you manage to barely avoid choking on air and only cough a few times in shock. 

 

Your gaze switches from Connor to Hank so fast that it makes some muscle in your neck hurt. He's leaning back in his chair now, scowling at you and making you feel like you're in a shitty rendition of the godfather. You certainly feel terrified enough. 

 

"Uh… I… well-" Your brain can't connect enough synapses to come up with a proper response. 

 

" Hank ." Connor whines from the kitchen. Your eyes shoot over to him and then back. "Don't bully my girlfriend." 

 

Hank scowls for a moment more before his expression relaxes and he snorts at whatever face you're making. 

 

"I'm just messin' with you, Y/N. Trying to break the ice. Address the elephant in the room. Whatever the hell. It's none of my business if you want to date Connor, it's just driving me crazy that he talks about you so damn much." 

 

He laughs as if reminiscing and you finally relax again. Fuck, you'd almost died of a heart attack. 

 

" Hank why is Y/N so pretty? Hank let me tell you about this thing Y/N did today! What are you doing Connor? Talking to Y/N ." Hank mocks, putting on a childish voice that sounds nothing like Connor but you still get the similarity. By the affronted sound you hear from the kitchen, the subject of the conversation doesn't seem to agree. "He's driving me crazy . And don't even get me started on all the shit he says about that fucker Reed." 

 

You laugh despite yourself, you can only imagine how much Connor annoys Hank by talking about Gavin. It's beyond cute that Connor talks about the two of you so much. It's fucking adorable. 

 

"If he drives you crazy just talking about Gavin, you'd need to be committed if you saw them together. Gavin's really sweet with him." 

 

Hank shudders like even the thought disturbs him. "I will never in my life understand what the two of you see in that guy. Seriously." 

 

"He can be cute." 

 

Connor, apparently done with fixing dinner, approaches the two of you with two steaming hot bowls of what looks to be some type of chilli or soup. You can't really tell, but it smells amazing and it's the perfect weather for soups and stews. 

 

You grin at him and accept the bowl happily. "Wow, this looks amazing Connor." 

 

"Thank you. It's a new recipe I've been wanting to try. It's a vegan six bean chilli. Hank's doctor told him that he needs to stop consuming so much red meat." 

 

Hank grumbles from his place at the table but doesn't hesitate to dig in. You follow his lead and are surprised by how good the chilli is. The two of you eat in pleased silence for a while as Connor returns to the kitchen to start cleaning up. You aren't sure if it's just your imagination but there seems to be a weird tension in the air now that Gavin has been brought up. 

 

You almost manage to convince yourself that it's just you being sensitive until Hank throws down his spoon into his now empty bowl with a loud belch. 

 

"Sorry." He apologizes sheepishly and sighs, patting his belly. Connor giggles at him from the sink. "I don't know what you put in that Connor but it was damn good." 

 

"Thanks, Hank." 

 

Hank sighs again but you notice that he's watching you eat quietly. When you look up and meet his gaze, he sighs again. 

 

"Listen, like I said this isn't really my business, but it seems like there's something up with you and Reed lately." He mutters with just enough disinterest that it leaves you an easy out if you want it. 

 

You end up sighing yourself. It's suddenly painfully obvious that Connor put Hank up to this. There's no way in hell that the lieutenant would willingly bring up the relationship between a coworker he can't stand and another coworker that he doesn't know well out of the blue. You should have realized it sooner. 

 

It doesn't make you less open to talking, though. "That obvious?" 

 

Hank lifts an eyebrow. 

 

"You and Connor may pass as being subtle but you and Reed definitely do not ." You wince and nod. "So, what's going on?" 

 

You chew on your bottom lip, trying to figure out how to best summarize this. Should you start with the fact that you'd nearly slept with his brother or would it be better to start at the fight you'd picked the other day? Neither sound great. 

 

"I think we might break up. I'm pretty sure he wants to." You say, instead. It hurts like a physical wound to admit that out loud. It had been echoing around in your head this entire time but you'd ignored it. But you couldn't keep running from reality. You'd known it before you got into this relationship in the first place. You were absolutely terrified beyond words to break up with him. It would be like sentencing yourself to death. 

 

"Hmm." Hank nods and crosses his arms over his stomach. He's quiet for a while, brows furrowed as if he's deep in thought. He glances over at Connor and then back to you.

 

"And do you want to break up with him?" 

 

" No ." You rush, feeling a rush of anxiety fill you at the mere mention of it.

 

"Well, have you told him that?"

 

You feel like you have. Didn't you? But then again… "No."

 

"You might want to do that." Hank smiles faintly. "But in my vast experience I think what ruins most relationships is fixating on a certain thing. You know - stuff like they're going to cheat on me, or they're going to lie to me, or they're going to leave me. Focusing on that type of stuff too much is just as bad as sabotage. You end up making it the reality. So… try not to do that. Just talk to him. Don't assume what he fuckin' wants or what he thinks or what he's feeling."

 

As if realizing how much he just prattled on, Hank clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck. 

 

"I still don't get what you see in that guy but from what I know and what I've seen, he seems more complicated to understand than he appears at first glance. The guy is probably one of the biggest assholes I've ever met but he's a damn good detective. I guess that means he can't be all asshole." 

 

Connor walks over and grabs the empty bowls in front of the two of you. "Hank, I would suggest that you stop discussing Gavin's asshole unless you want me to join the conversation." 

 

Despite the heavy atmosphere that had descended upon the three of you, it dissipates a little at Connor's comment. You have to slap a hand over your mouth to keep yourself from laughing harder than what could be considered appropriate . Hank blanches, ghostly pale, with his mouth hanging open.  

 

"Okay." He mutters, sounding like he'd just had the scare of his life. "Nope. No. I am absolutely done. Jesus Christ, why couldn't you have dated literally anyone else?" 

 

Connor laughs, happy and bright, like he hasn't just scarred Hank for the rest of his life. You can't help but giggle along with him. You don't feel entirely better about things but Hank made a few points that you're going to need to really think about. At the very least you owed it to Connor to try, really try, to at least talk to Gavin properly before either of you gave up. 

.. / -. . . -.. / -.-- --- ..-

Of course, it'd be easier to talk to Gavin if he wasn't hellbent on pretending that you didn't exist. 

 

It's not that you can't corner him or use his friends against him in a ploy to get him alone. You could. You definitely could. But the ice cold shoulder hurts. You're sure he doesn't mean it that way, that he's not intending to hurt your feelings and that he's probably thinking a lot about the state of your relationship too. None of that changes the fact that him walking by you several times in the precinct and looking right through you like aren't even there hurts really fucking bad. 

 

So, yes, actually finding a time and situation to talk to Gavin isn't hard. But everytime he brushes past you like you aren't his fucking girlfriend puts a dent in your resolve which is already shaky at best. 

 

Connor is doing his best to help, spending time with both of you and encouraging you like he's the child of divorcing parents rather than a third party in this crumbling relationship. The state of things is getting to him too even though he thinks you don't notice. It's been a little over a week now and he's clearly getting stressed by the lack of progress. You can tell because he urges you twice a day to talk to Gavin and reminds you how much the two of you love each other at least four times. But when he's not putting on the happiest front that he can, you've caught him staring at Gavin with bright red pulsing at his temple with a helpless expression on his face. You'd hate to think that he was looking at you like that too when you didn't notice. 

 

Which is why you've decided that no matter what , you're going to talk to Gavin today. You'll talk things over at your place, where the argument took place, and either decide to work through it or give up once and for all. If things go badly you want to make sure that Connor takes Gavin's side. You'd hate to make him deal with putting you back together after everything. But no, you weren't going into this with a negative mindset. 

 

If you loved each other, truly loved each other then you would make it on the other end of this. 

 

It was as simple as that. 

 

At the very least, you'd steadily been getting busier. Most days were taking you out of the precinct for a few hours to pore over crime scenes and bitching neighbors and unruly protestors. Was it so crazy that you felt more at ease dealing with that then dealing with your own boyfriend? 

 

You were walking back to your desk, lost in thought after an early meeting that morning with the general crime team. It was a meeting on goals, objectives, and updated practices that you'd mostly gotten through by sleeping with your eyes open. It's the only explanation really for why you don't notice the large presence approaching you.

 

"Where is Lieutenant Anderson?" 

 

You blink sleepily and it takes a few seconds for your head to keep up with your body enough to stop. 

 

"What?" You mutter, rubbing your eyes and glancing around the precinct. You hadn't spotted Hank yet this morning and you highly doubted that he was here at this time. 

 

"I don't know. You probably won't see him until-" 

 

As you turn to face the voice, the words in your mouth turn to ash and dissipate entirely. You have to double-take, looking at the figure, away, and then back to the figure again. 

 

"What… the fuck…?" You manage to utter, blinking owlishly at the, yes there's the LED , android in front of you. 

 

You'd seen a lot of androids lately, of all makes and models. They were more freely seen in the streets these days, a sign of the times, and you'd also researched a lot into the different models when you'd been looking for the T-Pose serial killer. But you have never… ever seen a model that looked like the one in front of you now. 

 

Actually, that was a lie. You'd only seen exactly one other android that even slightly resembled the one in front of you now. But the jaw was wrong, the eyes were wrong, the stance was wrong, the build was wrong, the entire everything was wrong and it was terrifying. 

 

The android turns sharply to glance at the rows of desks and then back to you. It's even more terrifying the second time you see his face. When you'd met Connor you distinctly remember thinking that you'd never seen an android like him before, so why did the android in front of you now so closely resemble your boyfriend while simultaneously looking nothing like him? Connor was soft angles and warm curves, this android was rigid angles and harsh lines. The blue eyes were the most disturbing part, though. Didn't all models look the same if they were mass produced? What the hell was this? 

 

"Do you know the current location of Lieutenant Hank Anderson?" The android repeats, eyebrows furrowing just slightly. He seemed like he was growing impatient with you. Hank was going to piss himself if he met this android.

 

"Uh… no." You shake your head, still looking at him with wide eyes. Almost immediately upon hearing your answer the android turns and begins to walk away, you scramble to stop it and reach out a hand. 

 

"Whoa! Wait a second!" 

 

When your fingers meet the fabric of the android's crisp Cyberlife produced uniform he stills as if electrocuted and turns around. He stares at you as if confused and for the first time since you'd looked at him, his LED blinks a slow yellow before pulsing back into blue. 

 

"...Yes?"  

 

You withdraw your hand slowly and the android's pale blue eyes follow the movement with fleeting interest. 

 

"Why do you look like Connor? Who are you?" 

 

The android blinks and turns more fully to face you, if you didn't know any better you'd think that he actually straightened out his back and pushed out his chest to appear intimidating. You weren't scared of him but you were certainly a little thrown off by his appearance. 

 

"I am Connor." He says simply. 

 

You stare at each other for a long moment. What the fuck . 

 

"How can you be Connor?" You ask, irritation mounting just slightly. "You don't look like him. You aren't dressed like him. You don't seem to recognize me, either."

 

The android is silent for such a long moment you start to think he's just content to stare at you until the end of time. 

 

"You appear to be referring to RK800. I am RK900." 

 

Just then, you hear a familiar voice call out in a panic. 

 

"Nines!" You look over the RK900's shoulder and see your Connor approaching, nearly running over to you. You hadn't realized until you heard their voices in direct comparison to another but while the android in front did sound like Connor, his voice was just an octave or two lower. 

 

"Oh!" Connor gasps, as he comes to a stop near the two of you. "Detective Y/N, I see that you've met Nines. I thought he was instructed to wait at the front entrance of the precinct this morning." 

 

The blue eyed android, Nines? , turns his attention to Connor. "I grew tired of waiting." 

 

You look between the two of them, perhaps the most confused you've ever been in your life. There were so many questions and odd things sticking out to you, but you decided to only focus on the fact that Connor seemed to know this android and also that RK900 suddenly sounded very familiar to you but you couldn't figure out why. 

 

"Well… okay! That's fine." Connor nods. "Just wait over by the Lieutenant's desk for me, I'll be right there. It's the one-" 

 

Once again, before the sentence is even finished, the RK900 android is walking with assured steps in the direction of Hank's desk. Connor watches him walk for a moment while you watch him . When he turns back to face you, he smiles sheepishly. 

 

"Hi." 

 

"What the hell just happened? Who is that?" You demand, eyes darting over to the strange android in between words.

 

Connor sighs. "I'm sorry for not warning you beforehand. I forgot how startling his likeness to me could be." 

 

Likeness . You can't take your eyes off the RK900. He's arrived at Hank's desk and is standing to the side of the desk like a bodyguard, staring down everyone who comes within a few feet of it. You hadn't necessarily been intimidated by him but, at this distance, you can see that he's built like a linebacker. You certainly wouldn't want to be on his bad side. 

 

"Y/N." Connor calls. You're startled by it since he never calls you by your first name at work. It's always Detective Y/N here. When you turn back to look at him he has a displeased expression on his face. 

 

He frowns. "Given our similarities, if you continue to keep staring at him I might become jealous." 

 

You gasp, reaching out to smack at him and laugh a little in shock. "Connor! Seriously, who is that? I'm not making heart eyes at him, I'm confused !" 

 

"He is an upgraded version of my model. I believe Kamski mentioned him briefly. He's Cyberlife's newest android. An improvement on all my flaws." 

 

You frown at that and nudge him in annoyance. " What flaws? But… I guess now is a good time to ask if there's a chance I'll run into androids that look exactly like you?" 

 

"No," Connor says, shaking his head. "My model was deemed defective and all the other versions were destroyed. I was supposed to be as well. The RK900 model was produced in a very large quantity and was supposed to be sold to the country's Department of State. After the revolution that plan was cancelled and currently this model is being assigned to every police department in the country." 

 

Well, that explains that. Still you hoped that Hank would have much less of a shock than you did. But…

 

"You're not defective, Connor. You're just-" 

 

Connor grins. "No, it's okay. I am. I failed every mission I was tasked with, let every deviant I encountered escape, then I assisted the revolution rather than dismantle it. I had several chances to execute Markus and I took none of them."

 

His hand reaches out quickly and you barely get your wits about you enough to move your feet again as he walks you in the direction that you'd come. Everyone had filed out, leaving the corridor empty. 

 

"But I'd choose being defective any day if it meant that I got to do this…" 

 

Before you could even react, Connor leans in, stealing a kiss from your lips. It's not chaste either and you're forced to stop it before it progresses to something even more unprofessional. It's difficult though, you can't exactly control yourself well when Connor is making your heart skip beats like that. 

 

"Charmer." You breathe when you finally manage to pull away. It's equally as hard to create distance between you but you force yourself to take a few steps back. "But don't do that at the station. You know that." 

 

"Sorry." Connor apologies not sounding fucking apologetic in the slightest. He's still smirking and has that adorable little starry look in his eyes, the look that lets you know how much he loves you without having to ask. 

 

You know that he spent the last night with Gavin and want to ask but you aren't sure if you should. Just when you work up the nerve you hear loud voices from the precinct. 

 

"What in the everliving fuck !? Who the hell are you!?" 

 

"Uh oh." You gasp, eyes going wide. 

 

"That sounds like Hank, I'd better go." Connor rushes, already making quick strides back into the main area. 

 

You linger for a while, reminding yourself not for the first time today not to chicken out of this plan. You were going to talk to Gavin. 

.. / -. . . -.. / -.-- --- ..-

It's surprising that it's taken you this long in your life to realize how much of a coward you are. 

 

You mean to approach Gavin, really you do. But the arrival of the android model in the station has everyone buzzing and distracted. You try to focus on your work but keep getting distracted by Hank's frustrated and overwhelmed voice behind you. Not for the first time, you wonder if Fowler has some kind of vendetta against Hank because the man is being tasked with training Nines . Though, it's obvious that the job will fall mostly to Connor from the squabbling you hear behind you. Still it's probably the biggest thing to happen in the department since Connor himself arrived so everyone is a little distracted. 

 

Including Gavin, who'd nearly walked directly into Nines when he was walking back inside after a smoke break. The resulting chaos had required Hank, Connor, Chris, and Tina to get involved. There was a stretch of time after when Gavin was alone at him desk and you had a break in your schedule but he looked a little haunted by the run in with the new addition team for you to try approaching him. 

 

And so in the blink of an eye the day rolled to a close and by the time you were looking up from the mountain of paperwork you were finishing, Gavin was nowhere to be seen. Hell, not even Connor, Hank, or Nines were around. 

 

You sighed and threw in the towel on your remaining work. There was no way you'd get anything productive done now. Anything you didn't finish would have to be met with a fresh mind when you showed up to work tomorrow. You quietly packed your things and walked with Detective Collins, talking amicably about the day, out to the parking lot. 

 

So maybe today wasn't the day. But how were you supposed to expect that a Connor lookalike would show up for his first day on the force today as well? It just wasn't meant to be. Really, you were mostly kicking yourself for not thinking to invite Connor over earlier. The last thing you wanted was to spend any more nights in your quiet and dark apartment with nothing but wine bottles to keep you company. 

 

At the very least it was good wine but if you kept going at this rate you were going to end up being an alcoholic. 

 

The thought didn't stop you from immediately opening a new bottle and pouring yourself a glass as soon as you arrived back at your apartment. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would have to be the day. You couldn't keep dragging this out. 

 

As soon as you get settled into your couch and reply to the few messages waiting for you on your phone after your shift, you switch on the TV to whatever channel you'd been watching last and snuggle in for the night. Of course, it's only then that you hear your doorbell followed by a firm set of knocks. You groan out loud at the sound. 

 

It was most likely your neighbors getting locked out of their place, again . At this point, they should just give you an extra key to hold onto. But you couldn't give them too much shit, after all they did share a wall with your bedroom and you'd yet to get any noise complaints even though you know they'd be completely valid. With a great heaving sigh, you pull yourself from the couch lamenting all of your bones and muscles that creak and pop from the movement. 

 

You hadn’t noticed it as much when you were snuggling into your couch enjoying the warming haze of tipsiness but fuck it’s freezing in your apartment. You shiver as you shuffle over to the door already planning to check what your thermostat is set on as soon as you finish with your neighbors. There’s another impatient set of knocks against the wood before you get there and you huff, annoyed to be rushed for someone else’s problem.

 

“Coming!” You call, hoping to be heard so that the knocks stop.

 

Eventually, you get to the door and unlock it. The coldness of the air immediately sends a shudder down your spine and you hope that you can get back inside as soon as possible.

 

“Sorry, I was just-“ The words die in your throat and your left gaping and speechless as Gavin squeezes past you into your apartment. That would be strange enough by itself, but when he moves you see that Connor is also behind him, looking a little more embarrassed by the sudden intrusion.

 

Wordlessly, you move aside to let Connor in as well and the android shuffles in, distinctly wearing a completely different outfit than what he’d been wearing before. Somewhere along the line he’d changed out of his uniform and was clothed in what looked like a mixture of one of Hank’s jackets, Gavin’s sweater under it, and a worn scarf over it that you were pretty damn sure was yours. Numbly, you close the door behind the two of them and turn around.

 

“I don’t want to break up with you.” Gavin states a little too matter of factly for the situation. You stare at him. “Do you want to break up with me?”

 

You shake your head immediately even though your mouth takes a few seconds to keep up. “…No.”

 

Gavin nods resolutely and his gaze falls to the floor briefly as he seems to be deep in thought about something. When he looks up again, he gestures to the third party in the room meaningfully.

 

“I think that it’s important that Connor’s here, so I brought him along.”

 

You follow Gavin’s eyes to Connor, who’d taken a position in between the two of you like he was about to referee a UFC fighting match.

 

“I could serve as a mediator if needed.”

 

That makes Gavin scowl.

 

“That’s not why I fuckin’ dragged you along at all. You are a part of this,” At that, he gestures violently between you and himself. “And that means you should be included.”

 

It’s dark in your apartment and the three of you are only being illuminated by the light of the TV, and the dim light from your kitchen so you aren’t sure if you’re just seeing things but you swear you see Connor’s cheeks flush violet. However, now that the shock of the sudden unannounced visit is wearing off and you’re being confronted with this you can’t but feel a little annoyed.

 

“I mean, it’s not like I don’t agree.” You mutter, crossing your arms. “But I tried talking to you before and you didn’t want to talk. Why the sudden change of heart?”

 

Gavin sighs and rubs at his eyes. “It’s not like that. Connor had just told me the night before that the two of you went to talk to Elijah. I wasn’t really in a great mood.”

 

“So, you treated me like shit without even talking to me about what happened?”

 

“When exactly did I treat you like shit? I just needed some space to think, am I not allowed to-“

 

“You really think brushing me off without actually saying that you need space isn’t treating me like-“

 

“Y/N.” Connor calls suddenly in a tone that immediately makes your attention focus on him. He’s frowning a little and you feel bad for putting that expression on his face. You huff, and retreat back to the comfort of your couch, taking a second to adjust the thermostat as you go. When you meet two bewildered stares as you sit down, you gesture tiredly to the remaining spots next to you.

 

Connor walks over promptly, and predictably takes the spot in the middle. It takes Gavin a little longer but he eventually sits down on the far end of the sofa.

 

“I told Gavin exactly what happened at Elijah’s house.” Connor explains, looking between the two of you as if waiting for another argument to start any second. “It’s true that he didn’t immediately take it well. I predicted that may be the case based on what happened previously. I advised that he not speak to you until he was able to calm down and think about it rationally.”

 

Pursing your lips, you look between the two of them curiously. “So, did you also tell him that you punched Elijah’s lights out?”

 

Gavin laughs darkly, shaking his head as if he still can’t quite believe it. You can’t either, really.

 

“Oh, he told me. It was probably the only reason I didn’t go completely ballistic. It was the highlight of my week.”

 

At the second mention of Gavin being upset at your visit with his brother, you bite your lip and frown. You’d set the record straight with Elijah but you wanted to make sure that Gavin was just as aware of where you stood on this. Regardless of where this conversation went tonight, he deserved that much.

 

“Gavin. I went there because what you said about him bothered me and I realized what exactly about him was making me so angry whenever he was brought up. I’ve felt like he’s just been sitting in his mansion getting to live out his happy ending and laughing at us up there and I couldn’t stand it. He doesn’t get to win after all he put us through. I don’t care what he says or how much you and I fight, there’s nobody outside of this room that could ever make me happier than I am when I’m with the two of you.”

 

Both of your boyfriend’s open their mouths as if they’re about to interject and you sternly hold up a hand before either of them can.

 

“Wait. Let me finish. All of my exes have all told me the same thing. They never felt like I really loved them and it’s true because everything and everyone reminded me of you, Gavin. I was… in really bad shape after we broke up back then. I didn't take care of myself and I threw myself into my work. Honestly, all of that time feels like a blur. The reason I felt like I couldn't trust you is because I don't trust you with my heart . I'm terrified of losing you again." 

 

Even though you'd tried your best to hold your tears at bay, a few spill over hotly onto your cheeks. You slap them away and sniff pointedly. You aren't going to turn this into a crying fest. Gavin thankfully seems content to listen quietly even though he does have an odd expression on his face.

"But Y/N-" Connor tries, and you reach out to hold his hand to quiet him. He squeezes your hand reassuringly in response.  

 

"I know . I know that's exactly why we end up fighting so much. I know that I'm the one who's always making a big deal of little things. It makes me feel better to have the control, to know that if things end it'll be because of me. That's the reason I went to Elijah's in the first place, not because I chose him but because I didn't want to deal with you not choosing me, Gavin. But the reality is that I don't want to break up. So… I need to stop acting like I have to get the last word in before it really becomes the last word ." 

 

The words linger heavily in the air for a long moment and both you and Connor watch Gavin to hear his response. He still has that odd expression on his face and he sniffs, blinking rapidly as he turns his gaze to your coffee table instead. 

 

"You're… a fucking idiot." He grumbles. 

 

"Gavin! Don't say things that you know will provoke a fight." Connor scolds immediately. He hits Gavin's shoulder and the man winces a little from the hit before he chuckles under his breath. 

 

You're not particularly bothered by the insult, you can see just as clear as day that's it just a prickly response from him due to his embarrassment. There's no way that you're imagining the thickness in his voice and throat. 

 

"Anyway," Gavin starts, smoothly composing himself and diverting attention back to the subject at hand. "If I was going to up and dump your ass I wouldn't have gotten back together with you in the first place. I know I threw the shit with Elijah at you when we were arguing before but that's more anger at him than at you. He just makes me so feel fucking… ugh !"

 

All of a sudden, Gavin shoots out of his seat and paces around with his hands laced behind his head glaring like the very air in the room has offended. It startles you a little. Usually, even if he was angry he wasn't the type to start a shouting match or start throwing things around. He usually kept a lot calmer than this. 

 

"This shit is too sappy, I can't." 

 

While you're staring at him like he's grown two heads, it's Connor's patient tone that cuts through the tension. 

 

"It's alright. Just tell her what you told me." 

 

Not for the first time, you find yourself wondering what the two of them had talked about over the last few days. Gavin stops his pacing but it still takes him a few seconds before he huffs aggressively and fully faces you. He looks so determined that it's almost frightening and you brace yourself for whatever it is that he's about to say. 

 

"He makes me feel fucking insecure about you. And that pisses me off. I know I'm not the most likeable motherfucker around and I'm definitely a shitty boyfriend sometimes, so I can't help thinking that you'll eventually get tired of dealing with me and find someone better." 

 

The argument rises in your throat before you can stop it. "There's not someone better." 

 

" He's better." Gavin raises a challenging eyebrow at you and points at Connor. 

 

You turn to look at Connor yourself and squeeze his hand again. His LED is blinking a soft yellow and he surprisingly looks a little sad. Still, you aren't going to argue with the obvious. You nod. 

 

"Yeah. You know what? Actually he is better. He's nice to me, he checks to make sure I eat dinner, he's easy to talk to, he's much cuter than you and I love him so fucking much. But he's not you . And unfortunately for you, I love you both." You bite your lip to hold back your grin. "Even though you're a grouchy asshole and I can't stand you sometimes." 

 

Gavin rolls his eyes and the last sentence you'd slipped in but the torn expression on his face finally slips away. 

 

"Geez, this is tiring. Are you sure you want to keep doing this? We could be like this every week, you know."

 

The question itself is crass but you know the intention is sincere and you get it. You aren't sure who in their right mind would ever willingly sign up to go through this once a month let alone weekly. Though, at the same time, you'd never exactly claimed to be in your right mind. 

 

"We could be like this every day ." You counter, smiling slightly. Gavin scoffs. "I'd still choose you." 

 

Amazingly, Gavin's face finally splits into a grin and you're incredibly glad to see it on his tired face. "Good. I'd never met anyone else who was so good at arguing with me. I wouldn't want to be bored."

 

You meet his smile, feeling a wave of relief crash down on you. You were going to fight like hell. With Gavin. For Gavin. It didn't really matter. However, you weren't the only one who had to agree to these terms. 

 

"And what about you, Connor?" You ask, getting his attention. He'd been studying the look on Gavin's face but his LED had thankfully returned to a neutral blue. "You don't have to deal with the two of us if you don't want to. I'm sure we're a little… much to handle." 

 

Connor's LED spins to yellow and he tilts his head a little in that adorably cute puppy-like way that he does as he seemingly considers this. It makes you nervous despite having been the one to ask. You hadn't really considered Connor getting tired of the two of you and wanting out but now that you were… it wasn't making you feel good at all. 

 

"I think that the rational choice would be to find a relationship that provided steady calm, peace, and comfort." He starts, and you still - looking at him with wide eyes. You haven't glanced over at Gavin but you're sure that he's listening with just as apt attention. "However, the thing I've learned about feelings is that they aren't based on rationale. I believe the two of you just made excellent points to that. I feel… happy with the two of you and I would feel sad to see any of the three of us separated. I don't mind going through whatever it takes for this to continue."  

 

"Alright, Sonny ." Gavin huffs. 

 

The tender moment fizzles away like ash and you look at him in utter confusion. 

 

" Sonny ?" You echo. 

 

"Yeah, from iRobot? It's a classic, come on." Gavin argues, scowling. "That was such a robotic response." 

 

You see yellow flicker out of the corner of your eye and see Connor pouting . It's the only word that can describe the way his posture sags, his eyebrows knit together, and his bottom lip juts out in a clearly displeased way. You don't really remember whatever movie it is that Gavin is referencing but Connor clearly is aware of it. 

 

"I am much cuter than Sonny." 

 

Gavin's expression changes in an instant and you get the feeling that somehow Connor has walked directly into a trap and has found himself in the lion's den. It's only further proven when Gavin crosses over to the couch and lowers himself down, resting a hand on the wall next to Connor's head. 

 

"Mm, yeah. You really are." He agrees easily. "Much more of a busybody, too. You've been paying so much attention to us that we haven't really gotten the chance to focus on you, isn't that right Y/N?"

 

You'd been too preoccupied with watching the scene play out before you that the sudden mention of your name startles you and you look between Connor and Gavin with wide eyes until your brain catches up. When it does and you finally understand Gavin's intention, you grin wickedly and hold Connor's hand tighter in your own as you scoot closer to him. 

 

"You must have been getting lonely, Connor. We'll have to fix that. We wouldn't want you regretting your decision now would we?" 

 

Launching immediately into a barrage of hot kisses down the column of his neck, the two of you barely give him any time to respond as Gavin takes initiative on the other side using his free hand to tilt Connor's chin up and kisses him deeply. You watch out of the corner of your eye and slip your own free hand under the sweater Connor's wearing. 

 

You feel more than hear Connor's soft assent. It's a cute little noise that makes you let go of his hand in favor of pushing the jacket off his shoulders. Gavin yanks the beanie off Connor's head and breaks the kiss in favor of stooping down to his knees. For how speedy your boyfriend's processors are, it certainly takes him a while to take in the situation. He glances between you, now cuddled against his entire left side with your face still buried in his neck, and down to Gavin, who's in the process of unbuttoning and unzipping his pants and turns a pretty shade of violet. 

 

"O-oh…" 

 

.. / -.-. .... --- --- ... . / -.-- --- ..-

In the morning, you wake up hot and sweaty cramped between two bodies. A knee is jammed into your side and the blanket manages to completely disappear from its place on you. You smile and snuggle in closer, wishing that you could stay like this forever. Maybe you can if you wish hard enough. 

.. / -.-. .... --- --- ... . / -.-- --- ..-

"I'm sorry, I really don't mean to be rude. It's just… I can understand why you would transfer me back to this department. I was also looking forward to getting back to what I do best and out of general crime, the team is fantastic, it's just really not for me. So, I'm certainly not complaining . I'm happy! But what I don't understand is why you're assigning him as my partner. I've only worked with an android partner once and it was for a very short period of time. There has to be someone more qualified than I am, right?"

 

You widen your eyes, practically begging, even though you know the plea in your voice is falling on deaf ears. You'd known that this was going to be a fruitless endeavor as soon as the words had left your captain's mouth, but you have to try. You can't just let this happen to you all over again. 

 

To your surprise, Captain Fowler's face brightens into a rather amused smile that you already know is spelling nothing but trouble for you. You should have seen this coming. You really should have seen this coming. 

 

"I understand that this situation may be unexpected. Initially, we were planning to assign him as a partner to a different detective. But that detective has recently requested an extended family leave so that leaves us with little option. You performed well with Connor in the previous case you worked with him. However, he and Hank have been partnered for a long time. I wouldn't want to try teaching that old dog any more tricks, he's already been in and out of my office with complaints constantly over the last few months." 

 

Now, that wasn't surprising. You were wondering how Hank had lasted this long already. 

 

Jeffrey smiles fondly as if recalling something. No doubt how whiny Hank must have been in the situation he'd found himself in.  

 

"Anyway, I'm sure you're aware of the complications that would arise if I were to partner you with Connor. HR would never let two romantically involved detectives be partners. Besides, RK900-" He pauses and frowns. "He prefers to go by Nines, right? The double Connors is very confusing. He specifically requested to be partnered with you." 

 

Your eyes widen. "What?! Why ?" 

 

You'd barely had a single conversation with the android outside of your first meeting. He wasn't exactly one for talking . Connor had explained that it had something to do with less focus on his conversation functionalities in favor of his analytical and physical abilities. You didn't get it but somehow that android was worse at talking than even Gavin was. 

 

"I'm not sure." Your captain says, shrugging like he hadn't spared it a second thought. "I'm sorry but the decision is final. You'll be moved back into the homicide division under the specialized android unit and will be partnered with Nines until further notice." 

 

If there was anything working with this man for what was approaching a full twelve months, there was no changing his mind once it had been divided. If even his best friend got stuck with one android partner and training another, there was no hope for you. You sighed and nodded resignedly. 

 

"Alright, I understand. Thank you, sir." 

 

You stood up from your chair and made your way out of the office. As soon as you opened the door to let yourself out a voice startled you so badly that you nearly shouted in surprise. 

 

"Hello, detective." 

 

As it was, you were left with a racing heart and clutched at your chest with a hand. You should be used to that now as well. Connor's lookalike, Nines, was already waiting for you. You shoot him a glare that he ignores entirely and continues to stare at you. It's hard to tell whether it's from longterm exposure to both Hank or Connor or some other force entirely but he'd become a lot less severe over the last few months that he'd been at the precinct. He behaved less like a drill sergeant and more like someone who desperately needed a good drink and nap. You'd nearly choked on your own saliva the first time you'd seen him in civilian clothes at Hank's house. It was jarring , like seeing Connor in his full Cyberlife suit was these days. Still he hadn't lost his awful situational awareness, impatience, or blunt attitude. 

 

"Hi, Nines." You greet cooly when you pull yourself together. Even though you don't ask him to, he falls into step with you when you head for your desk. You wonder if Connor already knows about this situation, you'll have to ask him when you meet him after work later. He was off today so he'd gone with Hank to some huge dog park for Sumo. You were looking forward to seeing all the photos later. 

 

When you get to your desk, rather than sitting in your chair you take a seat on the corner of the table. Nines had a way of standing over people in a weirdly intimidating way that you absolutely hated. Connor had also explained that as a part of his underdeveloped social module and the more you heard about that, the more you wondered if Cyberlife was actively trying to undo their progress over the years. 

 

"So, I guess we're partners, then." You state, eyeing him curiously. He meets your gaze evenly and nods. Then nothing. Sighing, you decided to just ask him what's on your mind. 

 

"Why did you specifically request me?" 

 

That gets you a shift in stance. Where he'd been barely entertaining talking to you, your question had grabbed his attention. 

 

"You are the first human that I ever spoke with. I feel comfortable with you." 

 

"..." 

 

The response catches you so off guard that your jaw drops open and you just stare at him like a complete idiot. You're quiet for so long that Nines, shockingly, decides to elaborate all on his own.

 

"I would still request you if Lieutenant Anderson was available. He doesn't like me." 

 

That makes you frown a little. "I'm sure he does. Maybe that's a misunderstanding." 

 

Nines gives you a look that suggests maybe he'd made a mistake in requesting you and you immediately give up on your argument. Hank, like you, was probably also a little weirded out by Nines' association with Connor and was much more obvious about it than you. 

 

"Well, anyways it's-" 

 

"Y/N!" You're cut off by someone calling your name. You turn and see Gavin and Tina approaching. Tina waves to you with a bright smile and makes a beeline to the breakroom. Gavin, really the only person in the station that would call you so brazenly by your first name, smiles easily when you meet eyes and crosses the distance to you. 

 

"Hey." You greet. There's a charged moment where the two of you both struggle to keep the PDA to yourselves. The entire station knows you're dating by now but still, you don't want to make it a thing so you just barely tolerate the arm Gavin slings around your shoulders. You let him pull you in for a quick side hug and then suddenly remember you have an audience. 

 

"Hello, Detective Reed." Nines greets frostily. Despite how unsocial and generally unpleasant Nines is to everyone, he seems to hold a special place of contempt specifically for Gavin. It probably has something to do with the way they'd met but you can tell the sentiment is shared by the way your boyfriend squeezes you closer to him. 

 

"Terminator." Gavin greets just as frostily. The temperature rises several degrees when Gavin's attention focuses back on you. 

 

"So, did you find out what Fowler wanted? You got moved back to homicide, right?" 

 

"Yeah." You nod, hesitant to reveal the rest.

 

Unfortunately, this doesn't escape Gavin's notice. He jostles you a little in his hold with a chuckle. 

 

"Just yeah ? Oh don't tell me, they assigned you a partner this time right? That always happens. Don't worry, if you end up hating them most of the time it's temporary. I haven't had one in years." 

 

"I'm her partner." 

 

The damning words immediately make the temperature drop back to subzero. Gavin's hand stills on your shoulder and you feel his whole body tense. 

 

"What?" He demands. 

 

Nines' eyebrows furrow just slightly. "I am Detective Y/N's partner from now on." 

 

There's another long pause. It's so long that you crane your neck up as much as you can to see Gavin's expression. He glances between you and your new partner as if waiting for you to interject and when you don't, his arm slides off your shoulder.

 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" 

 

.. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- …

 

 

Notes:

That's a wrap for now, folks!

Did I barely add Markus and Simon to the story - yes!

Is David Cage a coward for not shipping them officially - yes!

Anyways, I had such a blast writing this. It was full of challenges and I'm really happy for all the love it's received up until now ❤️ Perhaps the story will continue...

 

 

But also omg reader/connor/gavin/rk900 would be such a chaotic mess. Just building a harem over here, don't mind me.

Notes:

Hope you're enjoying reading ! :) Comments, bookmarks, and kudos feed my depraved soul

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Red, Yellow, Blue (I love you)