Chapter Text
Searching for a punchline
Gavin Reed grunted when he fell back into his chair. One whole fucking hour just to get to work because not a single ass out there would be willing to go outside at these temperatures, causing the busses to be way too crowded and the streets overfilled.
Gavin didn´t have the motivation for work at all, but of course Fowler had to keep it up. It didn´t matter how fucking cold it was and how other people started their december with holidays, he wouldn´t be spared. Well at least he wasn´t the only tormented soul. A few desks away Tina, another police officer, had smacked her head on the table when she arrived and not gotten up since. A look behind him revealed that Noah, one of his ex-partners, was checking something on his screen but Gavin was pretty sure it wasn´t relevant to any case. Fucking stoner always looked up weird shit.
A glance to the right showed Hanks empty desk in the office next to his. Connor (the android sent by Cyberlife) sat there, waiting. Goddamn Anderson should finally deal with this lost puppy for once.
Their eyes met for a second before the detective broke the gaze. He remembered the first time he met this plastic prick. The androids serious look and his way too perfect attitude. He had felt like gagging back then just like he was now. One year ago the revolution had taken place and since then apparently he had been mostly living at Hanks. Goddamn perfectionist. Well at least he was trying to fit in in contrast to another pain in the ass.
“Detective Reed”. The icy voice made him jump out of surprise. “I´ve brought you something”. Gavin felt his usual self boiling up again. Oh how often had he wanted to kick this goddamn stick between the legs just to get a reaction out of him. Well, it never worked out anyway, so the human clawed his chair and turned around to look up.
RK900, another one of Cyberlifes `prototypes` and his new assigned partner towered over the rather small detective. Ok, maybe new wasn´t the right term, they had been working together for almost 8 months now after all.
And yes, maybe there had been a few times when he got stuck with a case and `Nines` as the piece of plastic was referred to, was able to help him but sometimes he got the feeling of being just the side-dish. Something unnecessary. If this fuckface didn`t need a fucking partner and Gavin neither then why the hell did they have to bear this burden of pissing each other off? Like right now.
Nines looked very satisfied looking down on him, one eyebrow raised, this smooth smile on his face and eyes lowered.
“Fucking hell, asshole, what the fuck?!” Gavin glared up, ignoring the cup of coffee the android held out to him. “I fucking told you to stop walking around like there are mines in the ground. You know, just… use your damn heels for once!”
Nines ignored the curses thrown at him and simply stood there, stiff, quiet and patient.
After a good minute of Gavin ranting he simply nodded and waited again.
Another whole minute went by with the two men just staring at each other until one would back down. Of course they could keep it up for 24 hours if they really wanted to, but today Nines broke their little provocation and simply put the cup on their table and took a seat in front of his rude partner.
The detective hated this. A normal human being would give him some kind of reaction. Heck, even Connor started defending himself and especially Hank, but his fucking twin?! Nothing.
“Having a rough day, prick? Ever thought about maybe taking a day off? Or maybe a year? Or 70 years so that I don´t have to see you anymore?”
“Even if I took a day off I would still accompany you. To make sure that you don´t get another file for bad behavior and language. I think Caption Fowler would be thankful”
“F´cking stalker… and that man should care about his own shit!”.
He didn´t continue after that, knowing very well that he could get into more serious trouble if he went on. So he grabbed the cup from the table only to almost drop it again because of the burning heat.
“-RGHFCKNGSHII-!“.
He rubbed his lightly reddish palm against his leg. “Do you wanna kill me or something?! Asshole!”. He felt the urge to draw his gun but…
With a sigh he faced the screen in front of him and opened some folders. Geez he really didn´t feel up to anything right now. Nines had already gotten back to work and Gavin would be lying if he said that he didn´t like the androids calm nature.
His ignorant and proud side was nasty but at least he wasn´t one of those hyperactive monkeys Fowler tried to match him with. Nines at least didn´t try to report him on a daily basis (as far as Gavin knew anyway). Plus they had even started some kind of morning routine.
Usually RK900 arrived right on time and the detective either too early or also punctual. The greeting was mostly one-sided and short, then Gavin would be served a cup of coffee and they both tried to work as good as possible.
Admittedly he had to apprechiate the androids habit to make him a cup of coffee every day. It was still a mystery to him why the fuck his partner did that.
It may have started the day the detective tried to play the same trick on RK900 as his ancestor. He asked for cup of coffee. Ignored. Then he had cursed him. No reaction. He´d tried to hit him in the guts. Nothing. Well, he had tried to punch his counterpart but it ended with him being pinned to the wall. One of his worst days of his career for sure.
But by now there was a hot cup of caffeine on his desk everyday. And god knew he needed it.
So he gladly took a sip out of his drink.
And almost spit it out again.
First of all why the fuck did this coffee taste so sweet?
Second of all why the fuck did this toaster pour punch into his cup?
Third of all why the fuck?
Fourth of all WHY THE FUCK WAS THIS BASTARD SMILING AGAIN?!
Fifth of all shit this tasted actually rather good.
Gavin Reed, 36 years old swallowed the punch his partner had served him hard. Then he sent death glare and hissed: “What the fuck are you trying to poison me with?! I wanted some coffee, dipshit, the bitter taste of your presence, not this sweet fruit tea. There isn´t even alcohol in there!! Didn´t they teach you in android school how to do it right?”
Nines folded his hands and his LED spinned yellow. “I have noticed that you did in fact enjoy the punch, detective Reed even though it seems hard for you to admit it. But I appreciate the gesture. Your taste for sweet things is very distinctive”.
His smile still seemed kind of unreal to Gavin.
“But like… why…?!”
Nines laid his head on the side and blinked in a confused yet serious manner. “It´s the first of december, detective. I thought you may need a small shove to get into the spirit of Christmas”.
Gavin couldn´t believe his ears as his partner winked at him, rather cool and formal but the irony was clearly audible.
They stared at each other again before the detective shook his head and cackled slightly embarrassed , not sure what to say. So he just muttered the usual “F´cking android plastic prick” and shuffled through the papers on his desk. Time to dig through some assholes´lifes again. At least the punch tasted good. Goddamn perfectionist.
May I ask you a personal question?
Hank opened the door, escaping the cold air the winter in Detroit offered to the people. He threw his keys on the kitchen table, freeing his hands in favor of petting Sumo’s head, who was happily greeting his master.
Connor trailed into the house behind Hank, closing the door carefully and crouching down to hug the fluffy St. Bernard that was already happily ignoring his owner and trying to climb into the android’s lap.
The man chuckled slightly, deciding to sit down on his favorite seat in the house: the couch.
After watching Connor and Sumo play for a few minutes he decided to switch on the TV, where some old crime thriller was playing, back from the days he had been young. A part of him wanted to go and get himself a beer, but he knew better than to actually do it.
He hadn’t stopped drinking, not wanting to completely miss out on his evening beers, but he had started to cut down on the hard stuff. It was mostly for Connors sake he told himself, but he had to admit that his health had improved since then. And now, one year after Connor moving in (involuntarily at first but he grew to like the added company, even if he wouldn’t openly admit it) he didn’t wake up with a splitting headache most of the time anymore.
While he had been lost in thought, Sumo had walked over to lay his head on his legs, drooling onto his pants and glancing up at him with wide demanding eyes.
“Yeah yeah, Sumo. I’m fine. You’re a good dog.” Hank muttered, scratching the back of the dog’s ears.
Connor flopped down on the couch beside him, patting Sumo’s back. Sumo deemed his human well enough for now and gave Hanks hand a quick lick before trotting over to his doggie bed.
Connor and Hank watched the screen in silence, but Hank noticed pretty quickly that something was up with Connor. The android was trying to hide it, but his LED occasionally sparked yellow and the way he was sitting was way to up tight, even for Connors standards.
He tried to give the android some space and time to come forward himself if he wanted to, settling his gaze back on the TV, but after a few minutes of Connor not moving an inch Hank became antsy. With a sigh he turned to look the android in the face.
“Alright, what’s going on in that mechanical brain of yours? Did you short circuit or somethin’?” he asked, slight concern audible threw his ironic tone.
Connors LED switched from spoty to a solid yellow as he turned to face Hank as well.
“May I ask you a personal question, lieutenant?”
Hank rolled his eyes at the all too familiar question, but a smile was dancing over his lips.
“It’s still Hank.” He corrected “And yeah. Go ahead.”
“Are you going to celebrate Christmas this year?”
That question caught Hank off guard. He had noticed that December had been growing closer and closer again, but he hadn’t thought to much of it up to this point. But leave it to Connor to be overly observant and connected to the internet 24/7.
His silence seemed to make the android nervous, causing him to slip one of his hands in his pocket to fiddle with his coin.
“I understand if you don’t want to answer the question. It was just a thought.” Connor added quickly.
Hank shook his head, his initial shock fading and revealing a bunch of feelings Hank hadn’t let himself feel in a long time and wasn’t prepared dealing with. He tried to ignore himself and waved off the android while shrugging.
“I just wasn’t expecting that question.” His mouth felt dry. They were quiet again, the only noise filling the room coming from the TV.
“It’s a touchy subject. I apologize.” Connor stated finally. His voice had slipped back into his old overly professional tone he only really used at work anymore. Or when he was trying to hide his feelings.
Hank had hoped something like this wouldn’t happen this soon, or at any time if he was honest.
He hadn’t really celebrated anything anymore since the accident, to many memories with to many attached feelings resurfacing when he tried. His house had felt way to empty those days and had often found himself running away from the silence that was his home, either going to bars or just straight up drinking until he passed out. He had been relieved last year after he noticed people were to invested in the android revolution to properly get into any celebrating spirit. How stupid of him to assume this year would be the same.
He glanced back at Connor. The android was sitting stiffly, eyes fixated on the screen, LED swirling a solid yellow. Hank took in a deep breath. He already regretted his next steps. It would be hard for him to not fall into old habits or mess something up. He would destroy Connors first chance to experience a celebration by drinking again. He would be pressured by the deafening silence of his home again. He would think about the old times, a few years ago. About…
Hank looked to Connor again. The android looked almost sad, stiffly trying to avoid any movement as if afraid it would set up some sort of bomb. A pang of empathetic warmth began to spread in his chest, momentarily silencing his negative thought until he pushed the feeling away as fast as it had come. But it had been enough for him to make up his mind.
"We can try. To celebrate.” His voice sounded hoarse. Connors head swung around instantly, looking at him with big eyes.
“Lieu- Hank I- “
“Shut up before I change my fucking mind.” He interrupted, leaning back heavily into the cushions. He needed a beer. Now for real.
Connor stared at him for a few more seconds before one of these goofy looking smiles appeared on his face, his LED settling on a happy blue.
“Thank you, Hank.” He said, leaning back on the couch as well. Hank nodded briefly before going into the kitchen to grab himself a beer. Connor didn’t give him any accusing looks.