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They stood there, in the falling snow, holding onto each other. Time seemed to stop, all Connor could feel was the scratch of Hank’s coat against his cheek and warm arms circling his frame. The lack of alcohol on Hank’s breath relieved Connor, but the shivers coming from him slowly brought their attention to the cold.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Hank grumbled, not meeting Connor’s eyes, as he pulled him towards the parked car. Hank fiddled with the heating as he started the car, beginning the familiar route back to his house. The android kept Hank in the corner of his view, meticulously taking in his appearance. The human looked rumpled, and unkept. His grey hair looked matted and sorely in need of a haircut. Connor made a reminder to look into that, perhaps book an appointment for him. That left the question of who would cut it, as the android hairdressers in the city would probably become a part of the revolution. Maybe the lieutenant would allow him to, at a later date.
The rest of the drive passed in silence, the tension palpable in the air. Parking the car, they made their way into the house. No changes were apparent to Connor, the house was still as barren and messy as the last time he had been there. He spotted a few extra pizza boxes in the corner, and a scattering of beer bottles on the coffee table. Sumo was passed out on the couch, snoring away, with his paws twitching. Connor looked at the odd, gigantic creature with fondness in his eyes. The dog reminded Connor of his owner, in ways that the android could not quite put into words.
Hank snorted at his dog and walked into the kitchen. Connor followed, not sure what he was supposed to be doing. The lieutenant opened up the fridge and popped open a beer, guzzling down a few sips, before turning his eyes on the android. They stared in silence, both waiting for the other to say something first. Connor was at a loss for what to say. He had no objective to complete, he had no mission to focus on. He was reminded of a picture he had seen in the window of a store, of a ship lost in a raging sea, a storm brewing all around, turning the sea into a chaotic force. Connor did not know how the ship would survive. He did not know how he would survive.
Finally, Hank sighed and put the bottle on the counter, and leaned over it.
“So, what’s next for you?”
“Next, lieutenant?” Connor was confused, both by the question, and by what his answer should be.
“Yeah, next. Are you going to go join all those deviants now? I’m sure they could use someone like you.” Hank asked, his eyes unreadable, and his words spoken with a careful precision. Connor pursed his lips, turning away from those searching blue eyes. Hank watched as the LED flickered between yellow and red, before returning to yellow. Connor met his eyes again.
“I don’t think so. I’m unsure if I would be welcome, after having hunted down so many deviants. They might consider me a… traitor, to android-kind.” His voice caught, and his finger twitched around the coin that had somehow found its way into his hand. If he were human, he would consider it a nervous habit, but Connor knew better. He was built to be a hunter, a predator. There was no need for an RK800 to self-soothe. The coin was meant to be a training device, a calibration technique. Even knowing that, it didn’t stop Connor from stroking the coin, the familiar texture ingrained in his memory.
“That’s…not what-“ Hank shook his head, walking around the counter to stand closer to him. “Connor, you were following orders. You couldn’t break out of them, none of that is your fault. Shit, the fact that you were able to free yourself in the end is a goddamn miracle.” Hank took a step forward, and Connor took a step back, once again refusing to meet his eyes.
“I don’t think so. Underneath the programming, I think I could empathize with them, but the mission overruled it. If I had tried harder, or fought back more in the beginning, maybe I could have prevented some deaths from happening.” He remembered the look on the first android he’d ever taken down, the bitterness, the betrayal. The image was permanently seared into his storage. The face broken and bleeding, blue Thirium leaking onto the stark white Cyberlife uniform. At the time he had only felt relief that he had completed his objective, now he felt ashamed that he had murdered so easily without regret.
Hank sighed again and gently put his hand on the android’s shoulder, careful not to overstep.
“You fought back in the end, Connor. You saved so many lives. Hell, you’ve saved my life more times than I can count. Don’t you think you’ve done some good too?” Connor looked up, focused his brown eyes on the open expression on Hank’s face. How far they’ve come, he mused, from the anti-android detective hell-bent on hating him, and now his friend. It was a change Connor had not expected but relished all the same.
“You’re right, detective.” Connor brought a small smile to his face. “For you, it was worth it.”
The lieutenant flushed and turned away, removing the hand on the android’s shoulder to scratch his stomach. He picked up the beer and chugged it, setting it down to walk out of the kitchen. Connor followed him again, stopping in the living room as he heard the bathroom door close behind the human. The slam of the door caused Sumo to jump up, finally noticing he was no longer alone in the house. His tail thumped against the couch as he spotted the android, and Connor mindlessly sat next to the beast, stroking his fur. Sumo placed his oversized head onto his lap, and they lounged together as Connor heard the tap for the shower being turned on. After a few minutes of petting, Sumo had once again fallen asleep underneath the android’s hands, drool spilling out the side of his mouth on to Connor’s pants. He made a note to find the time to wash his pants, possibly when the lieutenant was finished in the washroom. He closed his eyes and awaited the return of the detective.
Finally, after 5 minutes and 36 seconds (he counted), the washroom door opened, and Hank returned, wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He looked younger now, with wet hair and a refreshed look in his eye. He spotted the android on the couch and walked over, shaking his hair out of his face.
“Do you want to crash here for the night?” Hank asked, his eyes soft as he took in the sight before him.
“I don’t mean to impose, detective.” Said detective rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
“I finally invite you into my house instead of waiting for you to break in, and now you don’t want to impose?” The sarcastic tone was not lost on Connor. His lips twitched in response.
“If you want me here, lieutenant, then I’ll stay.” His warm eyes caused a lopsided grin to appear on the older man’s face, and Hank threw himself onto the opposite end of the couch.
“Of course I want you here, idiot, Sumo needs somebody to lie down on, and my legs are getting too old to handle it.” The sleeping dog snorted in response and turned over. “Speaking of which, where have you been staying? Do androids like you even need to sleep?”
“I have not been staying anywhere, lieutenant, and while androids cannot sleep as humans do, I need to reboot fairly regularly to keep my body operational. I shut down certain functions to run system-checks and clean up my processing centre. You could metaphorically consider it ‘sleep’, if it is easier for you.” Connor explained, digging his fingers deeper into the thick fur lying on top of him. Hank grunted and turned to face him on the couch.
“What do you mean you haven’t been staying anywhere? Where do you ‘sleep’, then? In those creepy parking spots?” Hank’s brow furrowed, displeased at the thought of Connor just shut-off in public.
“Yes, I can, but I prefer not to. I am more vulnerable in a sleeping state, and I prefer to find somewhere more secure. Sometimes I have slept in the evidence locker at the police department, or in the janitorial closet. Both places have provided more security than public parking spots.” Connor explained, confused as the detective’s face grew darker and more displeased.
“You can’t sleep in a fucking closet, Connor!” Hank barked, startled the sleeping Sumo, who huffed and jumped off the couch.
“I do not mind, detective.” He did not understand what the lieutenant was objecting to.
“Well, I do mind! It’s fucking inhumane. And enough of that ‘detective’ crap, you know my name. You’re sleeping here, that’s final.” Hank finished, slapping the arm of the sofa, a determined look in his face. Connor felt… something. A warmth, deep inside his belly. It wasn’t the first time he had felt it. It was disconcerting and foreign. He began running diagnostics in the background to search for viruses. He smiled at Hank and leant closer to rest his hand upon the detective’s thigh.
“Thank you, Hank.” He smiled wider as a faint flush appeared on the other man’s cheeks. “I never quite understood what the deviants meant when they talked about waking up, but when I’m with you, it’s the closest I’ve ever felt to being alive.” The light blush on Hank’s face had turned red all over, and Connor savoured the view. The reactions Hank had always tickled the pleasure center in his operating system. Another irregularity in his programming. Connor was curious where he would go if something broke, either in his body or in his software. Cyberlife was out of the question, but some deviants in Marcus’s group might know how to fix small issues. It was an option to consider for future scenarios.
“Aw jeez, kid, you can’t go around saying stuff like that.” Hank cracked a small grin and stood up, breaking the intimacy Connor had created. The android wondered if he had done something wrong before the human reached down a hand to him. Connor took the hand and pulled himself up, careful not to unbalance the detective. “C’mon, let’s see you sleep in a bed for the first time in your life.”
“A bed, lieut- Hank?” He cut himself off, catching the look in Hank’s eyes at the use of the formal terminology. “Where will you sleep? A human of your height and age should not sleep on this couch, or the floor, the affects it would have on your spine would-“
“Fine, fine, Christ, stop nagging me, Connor. We’ll share the bed, I sleep like a log, and there’s enough space for both of us” Hank said the words in an easy voice, but Connor could see tension in his shoulders.
“As you wish, Hank, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Please alert me if my presence in your bed becomes unwelcome.” Hank scoffed at the android’s words and turned to walk to the bedroom, Connor trailing after him.
Connor watched the detective pull the sheets back from the bed and settle on his preferred side, before walking to the opposite side. As he made to sit on the bed, Hank stopped him with a disgusted look on his face.
“Really? You’re just going to lie down in your filthy suit? How many crime scenes has that thing seen?” Connor looked down at his suit, noticing microscopic patches of dirt and dog hair on his pants, and the dried patch of drool from Sumo. He looked back at the detective, frowning.
“My apologies, detective. I do not own any other clothes I could wear. I would consider removing my clothes, but I fear you will be uncomfortable with nudity.” Hank rolled his eyes again, standing up and rummaging in his closet before throwing something in Connor’s direction. He easily caught it and looked at his hands to see a pair of boxers and simple white t-shirt. Hank grumbled and threw himself back in bed, pointedly facing away from Connor. Connor could feel the warmth pool in his belly again, but disregarded it, instead focusing on removing his suit and stripping down completely. He felt the soft cotton in his hands and brought the shirt up to his face, sniffing it and cataloguing the scent as the brand of detergent the detective uses. A small smile appeared on the deviant’s face as he breathed in, before quickly changing into the clothes. It was so different from the mandatory Cyberlife uniform he wore. It was amazing.
He slipped into bed next to Hank, the smile still on his face. The detective turned off the light and flipped over, facing him. From the dim moonlight pouring through the window, Hank could see him smiling.
“Don’t get too happy,” Hank mumbled, reaching out to adjust the shirt on Connor. “Sooner or later we’re going to have to buy you your own clothes.” Connor looked over at the detective and turned to face him.
“Of course, Hank. Thank you. For everything.” He whispered, settling into the lumpy mattress, and he knew he had never been more comfortable in his life. He watched as Hank’s eyelashes fluttered a few times, until finally remaining closed.
“Goodnight, Connor.” Hank raised a hand to rest in the space between them.
“Goodnight, Hank.” Connor closed his eyes and brought his hand to rest next to Hank’s, barely brushing each other.
As Connor began preparing to shut down his systems, he felt movement from Hank’s side of the bed. Without opening his eyes, he felt a hand rest on top of his. He smiled and stroked his thumb along the other man’s finger. Hank huffed and grasped the android’s hand more firmly, squirming around until he was lying closer to Connor, their knees touching. Connor tentatively opened one eye, checking on Hank one more time. His face looked younger, when he was like this. Hank’s drying hair thrown across the pillow, the furrow in his brow finally relaxed and at peace. Connor didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, or the next day. Android uprising or not, all that mattered to Connor now was lying down next to him.
And with that final thought, he shut down for the night, a smile still gracing his lips.